Mark Pearson

The President of Pearson Accounting Incorporated.

I enjoy helping entrepreneurs become profitable and suggesting ways to minimize their tax burdens. I obtained my Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1980. I have been a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Arkansas State Society of CPAs since 1982. I currently serve on The Baby Sharon Catastrophic Illness Grant Program, a governor appointed commission. I am currently a member of the Church council of Grace Church East End an independent multi denominational Bible church.

I have six grown children and enjoy spending family and church time with them. I currently practice accounting in Little Rock Arkansas. I love going to Lake Hamilton on the weekends and riding a jet ski and driving a pontoon boat to the “cold water.

Dr. Dan Hennessey
I was invited to join the "Baby Sharon Fund" (BSF) Board of Directors about ten years ago, and my "yes" ranks as one of the best decisions I've ever made. My wife Beth and I adopted our youngest son 25 years ago. He was born without a left arm (elbow down) and had significant respiratory problems. Thanks be to God, this was not a catastrophic illness, but the families and nurses in NICU sure made us aware of the trials and tribulations parents and family experience during a catastrophic illness. Therefore, it is truly a blessing to be able to help so many families with financial needs to help them weather the storm during their child's catastrophic illness. I am also motivated to help with this program through my experiences as an ordained Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church. Beth and I have three boys (adults) and two grandchildren. I genuinely love the opportunity to serve Arkansas families through the BSF.

Dr. Pat Casey
Patrick Casey received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, and his medical degree from the Louisiana State University School of Medicine. He received post-graduate training at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill. He served as a pediatrician at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and as a faculty member of UAMS for almost 40 years. He has served as a member of the Baby Sharon Committee since 2006, and is pleased through this position to assist many needy families treated at ACH.

Richard Emmel
Sharon and I lost our youngest son to cancer and then our first granddaughter, the namesake of the fund, Baby Sharon, to a catastrophic heart condition. Please read her story on this website. With the help of our state representative, in 1999, we created the Baby Sharon's Children's Catostropic Illness Grant Program, commonly called The Baby Sharon Fund, to help families endure the financial stress of a medical catastrophe. Donations and state contributions provide the money the committee distributes monthly to needy families recommended to us by Arkansas Children's Hospital. I spent 42 years as an educator, retiring in 2012. Being on the BSF Committee allows me to continue helping children; I am thankful for that privilege.

Al Adams
I am a native Arkansan who went away for education and training and then returned home to build a career and raise a family. After growing up in Charleston, Arkansas, and attending Subiaco Academy, I went first to the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas, and then to the University of Florida in Gainesville for graduate training in physics. After a 4-year fellowship tour at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, I took a teaching position at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, which led to a 38-year stint with the UA System, involving both teaching and research. I retired in 2018. I married Isabel Mesa in 1974, and we have three grown children and eight grandchildren, one of whom is a special-needs teenager. We know firsthand how challenging life can be for parents with children needing special medical attention, and I am happy to do what I can to ease their burdens. Isabel and I are members of Christ the King Catholic Church and Pax Christi Little Rock.