One of Mountain Home’s longtime city council members was recently recognized by the Arkansas Municipal League.
Jennifer Baker, who currently holds the Ward 2, Position 1 seat on the Mountain Home City Council, received the Jack R. Rhodes Sr. Distinguished Service Award from the League at its virtual conference held in mid-June.
The award, named after the Lake Village mayor who spent 33 years as that city’s chief official, is presented to mayors, city clerks or council members who have spent 25 years in elected office.
The 70-year-old Baker was officially presented with her plaque by Mayor Hillrey Adams at the City Council’s Aug. 5 meeting.
Baker’s association with Mountain Home city government actually dates back almost 30 years. The Northern Hills resident was first appointed to the council on June 18, 1992, to complete the term of Mark Cooper, who was moving out of the ward and could no longer serve as a council member. Her first city council meeting was July 16, 1992.
Baker said Cooper reached out to her and asked if she would consider completing the remainder of his two-year term.
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Baker completed Cooper’s term, then successfully ran for re-election in 1992 and 1994. She failed to be re-elected in 1996, and unsuccessfully ran for a council seat again in 1998. She was re-elected to the council in 2000, and has been re-elected every two years since then.
Baker says that back in 1992 she would have never guessed she would have spent so many years in city government.
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The longtime Ward 2 representative talks about the different council committees she has served on over the years.
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Baker talks about some of the achievements she has been associated with during her time on city council.
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At this time, Baker says she does not plan to run for another council term. Completing her current term in 2022 would give her 26.5 years served on the city’s governing body.
Baker moved to Mountain Home from Iowa when she was 11. She is a 1969 graduate of Mountain Home High School.
After receiving her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, she spent 20 years with the Arkansas Department of Human Services, including 16 years as supervisor for the department’s Children and Family Services division. She also spent 3.5 years with the Arkansas State Police as a civilian child abuse investigator.
She currently volunteers at Baxter Regional Medical Center, the Baxter County Historical Society, the Twin Lakes Playhouse and with Operation Christmas Child. She is also a member of the Mountain Home Kiwanis Club and is an ambassador for the Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce.
Baker has two daughters, Tracy Tilley and Kelly Baker.
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