President

Picture of Willy with his wife, Tammy, and their youngest son, Jackson.

William Kuykendall is the youngest brother of Jeff Kuykendall, our foundation’s namesake. He dreamed of this scholarship foundation for nearly 2 decades prior to making it a reality in late 2019. He is hopeful that we can provide opportunities for many of the deserving students that have a similar background, values, and experiences.

Willy, as his friends and family know him, graduated from Batesville High School. After his brother graduated, his mother moved him to a larger school district so he could follow his passion and desire to play the sport of football. He is very thankful to his mother’s sacrifice and support - he can never repay her for the lessons and opportunities he gained from this experience. During his sophomore school year, Jeff was killed in a car accident. This event significantly changed his life and helped him become driven to attend and graduate from college. He received a B.S. in Computer Systems Engineering. Since graduating from the University of Arkansas, Willy has worked at J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. His current position is Vice President of E&T. He also shares his love of sports, especially football, through volunteer coaching opportunities.

The first entity for this foundation is for academic scholarships to give opportunities to the families in his hometown area. He hopes to grow the success of the foundation and build out a second entity that supports the rural area investments in sports by supplying scholarships to join clubs, provide equipment, or help fund youth tournaments that build skills in sports.