FORT SMITH - Joseph Kennon, RN, CEN, CPEN, has been selected as a Great 100 Nurse Honoree.

The Great 100 Nurses Foundation has been celebrating nurses in Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas and Oklahoma for the last 30 years, but will honor Arkansas nurses for the first time beginning this year. Kennon, who has 20 years of critical care experience, is a certified emergency nurse for both adults and children. He serves as Team Lead Manager in the Boreham Emergency Center Chest Pain Observation Unit at Sparks Regional Medical Center.

Kennon was nominated by a colleague for his contribution to nursing, education and community involvement. Kennon provides trauma training to nurses and also volunteers with the Children's Emergency Shelter, Step Up Speak Out, and the hospital's bicycle safety fair. The "Great 100" nurses are selected based on their concern for humanity, their contributions to the profession of nursing, and their mentoring of others, according to the foundation's website.

Stephanie Whitaker, assistant chief nursing officer said the honor is well deserved and that Kennon is a great leader in the hospital and is appreciated for all he does to give back to his fellow nurses and members of the community. Kennon was honored, along with other nurses from across the state, during an award ceremony in April at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Little Rock.