LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- Former first lady Janet Huckabee has been appointed by Governor Beebe to serve on a panel studying ways to help troops adjust to life at home when they return to the state.
Beebe, a Democrat, announced today that the wife of his Republican predecessor, former Governor Mike Huckabee, will serve on the Arkansas Yellow Ribbon Task Force. Beebe's office said the task force will first meet at the state Capitol on July 29th.
The appointment of Janet Huckabee to the panel comes after officials with the Governor's Mansion said they removed her name from an entrance to a banquet hall at the mansion. Commission officials said the plastic lettering was removed for "aesthetic reasons." A plaque outside the building still refers to the hall as "Janet M. Huckabee Hall," which it was named two years ago.
The commission overseeing the mansion also voted to no longer name rooms after people at the mansion.
Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said her appointment to the panel had nothing to do with the flap over the removal of her name from the mansion. The former first lady works as the American Red Cross Arkansas program manager for services to military families.
DeCample said Janet Huckabee said she wanted to be part of the task force, and it made sense to have the Red Cross' veterans liaison on the panel.
