Board of Directors & Staff

M. Lane Crider P.E. is Chief Executive Officer at Beaver Water District. Crider holds a Class IV Water Operators License, is a Registered Professional Engineer in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, and has a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Arkansas. From 1989 to 2018 he worked for McGoodwin, Williams and Yates, Inc. and MWY, a Division of Olsson Associates. His nearly 30 years of experience with MWY included water and wastewater treatment plant design; water transmission, distribution, and storage; wastewater collection and transmission; sludge application and industrial pre-treatment; street, paving and storm sewer design; sanitary sewer rehabilitation; municipal utility relocation and reconstruction; and many other areas of design and construction for private and municipal projects. Crider currently serves as a member of the Arkansas Board of Health, the Board of Directors for Arkansas811, and is an officer of the Arkansas Water and Wastewater Managers Association (AWWMA). He has served on the Board of Directors for the Arkansas Water Works and Water Environment Association (AWW&WEA), the state Board of Directors of the Arkansas Society of Professional Engineers (ASPE), and the Board of Directors of the Southwest Section of the American Water Works Association. At the national level, Mr. Crider serves on the American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) Water Utility Council.

Kevan Inboden is the Chief Operating Officer of Beaver Water District. He supervises the Engineering, Information Services, Compliance, Environmental Quality, Operations, Electrical and Instrumentation, and Maintenance Departments. He is a licensed professional engineer with over thirty years of experience in the utility industry and holds both Class 4 Water Treatment and Water Distribution Licenses. Previously he served as part of the senior management team at City Water and Light in Jonesboro, Arkansas. His work experience includes design and project management on water, wastewater, and electricity generation projects, including solar power. Kevan was very active in the Jonesboro community during his career, having served as Chairman of the Board for the Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce, Jonesboro Unlimited, and the Craighead County Regional Solid Waste Disposal Authority. He was a board member of the Jonesboro Economic Development Corporation, an adjunct instructor in the Arkansas State University College of Engineering, and an active member of Jonesboro First United Methodist Church. He has been a member of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) for over 25 years and has served as the Arkansas Trustee for the Southwest Section of AWWA.

Colleen Sarkar of Bentonville joined our staff in 2025 as the District’s Chief Financial Officer. Colleen comes to the District from the city of Sherwood, Arkansas, where she has been the Director of Finance and Treasurer, overseeing the finance department for the city. She is a Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM) and brings 14 years of experience in public finance and accounting. In 2015, Colleen was recognized as the Arkansas Government Finance Officer of the Year, while with the city of Little Rock. Sarkar graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Centenary College and a Master of Accountancy from University of Central Arkansas.

Stacy Cheevers joined Beaver Water District in 1991. He manages staff in the operations, maintenance, and electrical/instrumentation departments. Mr. Cheevers is responsible for submitting a yearly budget, coordinating in-house projects, overseeing water treatment procedures, and ensuring water quality requirements are met or exceeded at all times. He assisted in the design of the 140 million gallon a day intake and 60 MGD water treatment plant expansion inclusive of a solids treatment facility. He also coordinated an engineering contract for the addition of a new 13.2 KV switching station and replacement of 12,000 feet of 13.2 KV distribution line, as well as the installation of two 1000 HP raw water and one 500 HP high service pumps. Mr. Cheevers holds Grade IV Water Operators Treatment and Distribution licenses and a Master Electrician license in the state of Arkansas. Mr. Cheevers serves on the state Drinking Water Advisory & Operator Licensing Committee.Cheevers was awarded Arkansas Water Manager of the Year in 2013, from AWW&WEA. He is past Chair of the Northwest District of the Arkansas Water Works & Water Environment Association.

Darryl Fendley is the Engineering Manager. His formal education consists of a M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Arkansas and a B.S. in Physics from Henderson State University. During his career he has worked for Garver Engineers on the consulting side, BlueInGreen on the manufacturing side, and now for BWD on the utility side of the industry. Mr. Fendley is a registered Professional Engineer in Arkansas and holds both Grade IV Water Operator and Water Distribution licenses. Past experience includes design of various hydraulic, water treatment, water distribution, & wastewater collection projects as well as the development of innovative chemical feed equipment. His current responsibilities include management of engineering and construction activities and technical support for plant operations.

James McCarty is the Environmental Quality Manager for Beaver Water District. James started his career as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force and followed that with a position as a research associate for the University of Arkansas where he attained his Masters and Ph.D. in Biological Engineering. His main responsibility for the District is to manage their environmental research and sampling efforts and to direct the district’s source water protection program.

Korenda Allen is the Director of Human Resources for Beaver Water District, located in Lowell, AR. Korenda has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Arkansas State University with a minor in Economics. Korenda is an active member of Northwest Arkansas Human Resources Association (NOARK) and serves as the SHRM Foundation Chair which supports, educates, empowers, and develops the next generation of HR professionals. As the Core Leadership Director, Korenda represents Arkansas on the AR SHRM State Council. Korenda has ten years of human resource experience and holds a Professional Human Resource Certification (PHR). She is an active member of American Water Works Association’s Workforce Strategies Committee and serves on the Arkansas Employment Law and Legislative Affairs (ELLA) Committee.

Ray Avery joined Beaver Water District in 2006. He leads the District in the development, execution, and management of both the business (IT) and plant control (OT) information systems to support the day-to-day functions of all teams including overseeing all aspects of the design, implementation, and administration of network infrastructure, communications, software, and security. Ray holds both a B.S. and M.S. in Biological Engineering from the University of Arkansas. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Arkansas and holds Grade IV water treatment and distribution licenses. He was inducted into the Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineers in 2016. He is currently a member of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and serves on the Water Utility Technology and Automation Committee, the Digital Twins Committee, and the M2 Instrumentation and Control Subcommittee.

Mindi Dearing joined Beaver Water District in 2005 as the Laboratory Supervisor. She served in this position for over 16 years until she became the Compliance Manager in October 2020. Mindi has a B.S. in Biological Science from Oklahoma State University, an MBA from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, and has a Class IV Water Operator and Class IV Water Distribution license through the Arkansas Department of Health. Mindi has been active in both the Southwest Section and the National level of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) for more than 25 years. Her responsibilities include reviewing current and potential future regulations to ensure compliance, regulatory reporting, managing the safety program, and providing support for the District’s Strategic Plan.

Trish Ouei (Way) of Rogers is the Director of Public Affairs. She has an extensive background in public education and outreach, training and development, program planning, and public participation and involvement in pollution prevention, water quality, watersheds, and stormwater issues. She has served on several nonprofit boards in the past and is currently serving on the Arkansas Environmental Education Association. Ouei has a Master of Education in Education Technology from the University of Arkansas, a Bachelor of Science in Health Education from the University of Central Arkansas and is a nationally Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality’s 2016 Ginger Tatom - Water Quality Professional Award and a 2011 Communications Award from the National Association of County Agriculture Agents.