LITTLE ROCK—Former At Home in Arkansas publisher Rebekah Boyd Hardin has joined the Medical News team as associate publisher in Little Rock.

 

“We’re excited to have someone of Rebekah’s caliber on board as we continue to provide the Arkansas medical community with local healthcare news that directly impacts the bottom line—in an industry undergoing the greatest transformation in American history,” said Medical News CEO Jackson Vahaly. “I encourage the local medical community to reach out to Rebekah to partner on ways to move forward together and convey your message to other healthcare providers.”

Hardin grew up on a farm in Calhoun, La., graduated from Ruston’s Cedar Creek High School, and earned an undergraduate degree focusing on marketing and merchandising from Louisiana Tech University before heading to Texas, where she apprenticed for Jim Quist & Associates at the Dallas Apparel Mart.

 

Hardin then made Little Rock her home for two decades. After marketing Dakin products to upscale Arkansas retailers, Hardin shifted to publishing, and is best known locally for her role as founder, publisher and president of the regional At Home in Arkansas magazine. While there, she developed and led the successful, nationally-recognized fundraising program, Build for the Cure Idea House for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and was named to the state’s prestigious Arkansas Business “Top 40 under 40” Class of 2004.

 

As any true Southern farm-raised girl should, Hardin spends nearly all of her free time outdoors.

 

“I love watching my 13-year-old son, Keith, play all of his sports—football, basketball, and baseball,” said Hardin, who also adores following the Arkansas Razorbacks, taking daily runs through her neighborhood, going on hunting trips, floating canoes on the Buffalo River in the Ozarks, and trout fishing on the Little Red River in Heber Springs. She recently returned from a boating and fishing expedition with her dad, two older brothers, son and nephews on Lake Bistineau in Shreveport, La., accompanied by her faithful Australian cattle dog, Cinnamon.

 

Hardin has incorporated her interior design skills into her latest personal project: rebuilding her home, which burned last July after being struck by lightning.

 

“It’s been a challenging yet fun experience, getting to select all of the features and furnishings,” she said. “I love to be my own decorator and have helped friends with their homes. I’m constantly perusing home design magazines and reading blogs that help to stay abreast of trends and to create a sense of style for my own living spaces.”

 

For example, to bring the outdoors in, Hardin has created four unique exterior spaces—a comfortably oversized front porch, a side terrace that extends the kitchen, screen porches accessible from the den, and a sundeck that adjoins the screen porch and master suite, where she enjoys cozying up with a good book, such as Keep Going: The Art of Perseverance by Joseph M. Marshall III.

 

“I’m looking forward to forging a strong connection between specialty physicians, clinics, institutions and quality companies that offer medical-related products and professional services, with influential members of the professional medical community in Arkansas,” said Hardin.

 

Hardin may be reached via rhardin@medicalnewsofarkansas.com or (501) 580-8903.