U.S. House of Representative for Arkansas’s 1st congressional district Rick Crawford visited the Williams Baptist University campus on Friday to tour the school’s newly opened meat processing plant and to learn about the school’s Williams Works program.

“We were honored to have hosted Congressman Rick Crawford on our campus today,” WBU president Dr. Stan Norman said. “We discussed potential initiatives that could strengthen and expand workforce education and training. We also were able to update Congressman Crawford on our Williams Works education program. Congressman Crawford is a valuable asset to our community, and we look forward to working with him and his staff in the future.”

The congressman interacted with students in the Williams Works program and learned how they work 16 hours per week during the school year, and in exchange they receive full tuition and student service fees. In addition, they can apply to work full-time in the summer months to pay for the following year’s room & board.

The state-of-the-art meat processing facility that Crawford toured began taking orders in November, after Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders presented the facility with its official stamp of approval from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture. 

WBU is a private, Christian university in Walnut Ridge.