Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has named Donavan Williams of Helena-West Helena as the March installment of her “Faces of Arkansas” series, which highlights residents whose portraits are displayed at the entrance to the Governor’s office.
Williams serves as Operations Manager at Delta Dirt Distillery, his family’s farm-to-bottle business on Cherry Street in Helena-West Helena. The distillery is the first and only Black-owned farm-to-bottle distillery in the United States.
The Williams family’s agricultural roots trace back to 1949, when Donavan’s great-grandfather purchased 86 acres in the Arkansas Delta after working as a sharecropper. More than seven decades later, the family grows sweet potatoes and corn on that same land, with more than 75% of their distillery ingredients coming from their own farm.
After earning an international business degree from Illinois State University and living abroad in Taiwan and Madrid, Williams returned to Helena-West Helena during the pandemic to help build the family business. The family learned distillation without prior industry experience, and their sweet potato vodka has earned Double Gold recognition at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
The family also produces Arkansas Brown, a bourbon-style spirit that required its own designation. They renovated a historic building on Cherry Street themselves to house their tasting room, which attracts visitors on weekends.
“Helena-West Helena is a small town,” Williams said. “But Delta Dirt is something people rally around. You never know who’s going to walk through those doors.”
The distillery donates a portion of sales to local education and community initiatives. Agriculture in Arkansas generates $25.6 billion annually and supports roughly one in six jobs statewide.
The “Faces of Arkansas” series was launched to keep public service focused on individuals and communities across the state. Each month features a different resident through written profiles, portrait photography, and video interviews. A video interview with Williams is available online.
