R.E.A.C.H. Community Economic Development Corporation Inc.

07/22/2026

Woodson's CommUNITY Motto and Logo:
WE DON'T CARE!

07/21/2026

Get a GED and Skills Training at the same time!

07/20/2026

R.E.A.C.H. stands for Receiving Everyone As Christ Has. We are not a religious corporation, but our work was spiritually inspired by Luke 7:1-9, a passage that reminds us to look beyond division, status, and habit and to respond to people with humility, faith, and compassion.

This message is both an invitation and a challenge. It explains why R.E.A.C.H. exists, what the Woodson community is being asked to do, and why unity is necessary if opportunity is going to become more than a word on a flyer.

Yesterday we invited the Woodson community to our corporate office for a Meet and Greet. Although R.E.A.C.H. has been in Woodson for six years, and although we have posted flyers at the Post Office, shared notices on Facebook, extended invitations, and visited all seven churches in Woodson, only one person, Mr. Howard Geeghan, came to see what we have to offer. That moment should cause all of us to reflect. Community work cannot happen from a distance. A Zoom meeting may be convenient, but it cannot replace walking into the room, seeing the work for yourself, and putting a face with the place. Reminders, weather, schedules, and discomfort are real, but they can also become excuses when the matter is not a priority. If we want change, we must be honest about the ways we avoid showing up for it.

Woodson's history shows a community that has often been left without clear direction, reliable documentation, or consistent support. Even the origin of the name Woodson raises questions. I have not been able to find documented evidence confirming that Ed Woods, whom the community is said to be named after, existed in the way some accounts describe. Online references say he was a former slave who moved from Alabama to Arkansas, owned the first Black plantation in Arkansas, and helped create the Mosaic Templars, but I have not found verification for those claims. When a community's history is uncertain, that uncertainty should not make us careless; it should make us more committed to truth, recordkeeping, and shared responsibility.

As a veteran community developer and historian, one of the first responsibilities is to assess the environment, identify the stakeholders, determine what resources are available locally, conduct visioning sessions, and develop action plans for mobilization. That process is not just paperwork. It teaches a community to look honestly at where it is, name who must be involved, recognize what it already has, and organize people around a shared direction.

One of the biggest obstacles in any action plan is a community with no shared vision. When people have been wounded or neglected for a long time, they may stop believing that change is possible. That does not mean change will not come. Time changes communities, generations change, and group dynamics shift. The question is whether we will guide that change with purpose or allow it to happen without us.

Woodson is an aging community of long-term property owners who have learned to live by their own rules, largely because government neglect has provided only the most basic services. At the same time, Woodson is becoming a younger community. Each year, more children catch buses to school. Those two realities demand our full attention: we must honor those who stayed, but we must also prepare a better path for those who are growing up here now.

Our profile page shows an image of Opportunity knocking on the door. R.E.A.C.H. is a community nonprofit organization headquarters in Woodson, and we believe opportunity is still knocking here. But opportunity and community cannot stand without unity. We are not going anywhere, and we will continue seeking opportunities for Woodson. What we ask is simple but serious: find your unity, show up for the work, and help open the door.

Call now to connect with business.

07/18/2026

We support small businesses like this!

We had a few of you ask at today’s market so here’s what we recommend🍞

07/14/2026

A Meet and Greet Event

07/12/2026

Yesterday a portion of the Woodson community came together to discuss how the community can become more structured and united. State Representative Denise Ennett, state rep candidate Michael Mason and Judge Wendell Griffen, democratic candidate for Pulaski County Judge.

This also provided us another opportunity to introduce R.E.A.C.H. Community Economic Development Corporation, Inc. We are an organization that does not mine transparency and want everyone within our service area to know what we stand for and what we want to offer.

Record Briefing: R.E.A.C.H. Community Economic Development Corporation, Inc.
Executive Summary
• R.E.A.C.H. Community Economic Development Corporation, Inc. is identified in public records as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit associated with EIN 26-2404976 and based in Woodson, Arkansas.
• The organization’s stated mission centers on improving economic, educational, social, and health conditions for residents of Woodson and Pulaski County, particularly underserved residents.
• Public records associate the organization with 24205 Hwy 365 S, Woodson, AR 72180, and identify Macy V. Butler as a registered agent, president, principal, or key contact in multiple listings.
Mission and Community Purpose
The clearest publicly stated mission located for R.E.A.C.H. Community Economic Development Corporation, Inc. is to raise the economic, educational, social, and health levels of residents of Woodson and Pulaski County, Arkansas, particularly residents who are unemployed, underemployed, or living below federal poverty guidelines. [guidestar.org]
• Its stated program focus includes expanding educational and economic opportunities, reducing poverty-related barriers, and improving community quality of life.
• Public descriptions also reference youth-oriented cultural, recreational, and arts-related programming intended to support community development and reduce juvenile delinquency.
Registration and Tax Status
Public nonprofit and corporate records identify the organization as a tax-exempt charitable and educational entity and as an Arkansas domestic nonprofit corporation.
• Federal tax status: 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization associated with EIN 26-2404976 and an IRS ruling date of October 2009
• Arkansas registration: Arkansas Domestic Nonprofit Corporation, file number 811279119, filing date December 16, 2020, with status reported as Good Standing.
Principal Address and Public-Record Associations
The address 24205 Hwy 365 S, Woodson, AR 72180 is listed in multiple public sources as a contact, principal, or business address associated with the organization.
• IRS and nonprofit listings identify the organization at 24205 Hwy 365 S, Woodson, AR 72180
• Business-directory and corporate-record sources also associate the organization or registered agent location with 24205 Hwy 365 S
• Leadership and Related Individuals
Public records identify Macy V. Butler and Gwendolyn Withers Butler in connection with R.E.A.C.H. Community Economic Development Corporation, Inc. or similarly named entities using the same EIN.
• Macy V. Butler: Listed as registered agent for the Arkansas nonprofit and as vice president, principal contact, or key principal in multiple public business listings.
• Gwendolyn Withers Butler: Listed as Presdient in earlier Florida corporate records for a corporation using the same name and EIN; a public artist biography also associates her with Macy V. Butler.
Historical Florida Connection
Before the Arkansas registration, public records show a Florida nonprofit with the same name and EIN, filed July 10, 2008.
• The Florida records list Macy V. Butler as president, Gwendolyn Withers Butler as treasurer, and Veronique Baptiste as secretary
• Because the reviewed public records do not explain the transition from Florida to Arkansas, the relationship should be described as an apparent continuity based on matching name, EIN, and as a confirmed organizational migration.
Evidentiary Notes
This briefing relies on public nonprofit databases, corporate-registration sources, business-directory listings, and publicly available biographical information. The findings distinguish between directly stated public-record facts and reasonable inferences drawn from matching names, addresses, EINs, and officer listings.
Conclusion
Publicly available records support the conclusion that R.E.A.C.H. Community Economic Development Corporation, Inc. is a Woodson, Arkansas-based 501(c)(3) community-development nonprofit associated with EIN 26-2404976, Arkansas file number 811279119, the 24205 Hwy 365 S address, and publicly identified leadership or officer connections involving Macy V. Butler and Gwendolyn Withers Butler.

03/07/2026

A New Fire Station in Woodson! Standby, we have a plan.

06/05/2025

REACH VILLAGE by R.E.A.C.H. Community Economic Development Corporation, Inc.

Architect’s Proposal for Programming and Conceptual Site Plan Date: May 13, 2025

The following is the proposed scope of work to be enacted by the Architect (Kwendeche, FAIA) toward the preparation of a site programming document and illustrative conceptual site plan for an existing site in Woodson (Pulaski County), Arkansas—see attached map—owned by Macy V. Butler and Gwendolyn W. Butler. The owners have established a non-profit organization (R.E.A.C.H. Community Economic Development Corporation, Inc.) to enact the planned self-sustainable residential development including:

A mixture of single housing types for long-term and short-term use

A commons area for management, security, and maintenance

A community center for meetings, social gatherings, and classrooms

A new lake for recreational fishing and irrigation/flood control

An open-air amphitheater with adjacent food truck stalls and sit-in restaurants

A demonstration farm for food crop production with adjacent farm-to-table dining

Restoration/rehabilitation of the historic Collins Chapel AME Church

A biking, jogging, and fitness trail with electric cart access

A biker’s refresh station for rest and service

An urgent care medical station with adjacent drug and convenience store

An arts, crafts, and photography workshop facility with gallery and classrooms

Future headquarters of the corporation located in Woodson Arkansas. In development stages to create the most ambitious community development project ever in ...