A reception was held on Thursday at the Governor’s Mansion to honor the state’s longest married couples.

Ten couples, including the state’s longest married couple were each recognized with a proclamation celebrating their anniversaries. The longest married couple title goes to Lawrence and Varrie Player of Benton. They’ve been married for 80 years. Unfortunately, the couple was unable to attend today’s reception. The players married in 1935, when Lawrence was 21 and Varrie was 15. When representatives from the governor’s office asked them the secret to making their relationship work, the couple said, “Do unto others as you would have done to you and good things will come your way.”