front&center: Stanley Wood

LITTLE ROCK — There's been one simple principal guiding Stanley Wood's life: Be like Dad.

Simple, but not easy.

"Dad was more than an influence, he was someone to try to be like," Wood said. "I am always thinking, 'What would Dad say or do' ... I admire what he stood for, what he accomplished. My son, Scott, uses the phrase 'heavy duty' to describe [people]. He was heavy duty everything."

At 82, Wood has spent a lifetime following his father's example in business and community: running Stanley Wood Chevrolet and Scott Wood Chrysler in Batesville and volunteering his time to the City Council, Boy Scouts, Kiwanis, Water Utility Commission, White River Water Carnival, University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville, church and more.

Maybe with another lifetime Wood would have felt like he had done enough. But then again, with so much respect for his father, Stanley Sr., maybe not.

"I never would have caught up," he said.

Stanley Sr.'s photo still hangs proudly on the wall of the original building that he bought in 1939 to open the Chevrolet dealership. Wood still keeps an office in that building and comes in every day, although he's quick to give credit to Scott and the others who he said do all the hard work these days.

That same building provided the backdrop for Wood's developing character as a member of the Depression and World War II generation: hard work and being satisfied with what you've got, a way of life thatWood said follows him to this day.

"He assigned me this front sidewalk right out here, told me to sweep it every morning," Wood said. "I said, 'What did I do wrong?' I thought I was being punished. And he said, 'Nothing, but you need to learn how to work.' So I've been at it since I was 12."

As he grew older, he graduated to "general flunky work" around the dealership. When he went to college at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, he took the business and management classes he thought would help him and the family business. He graduated in 1948, returned home and got to work, trying his hand at each part of the business to get acquainted with everything.

He said he never was much of a salesman, but his education in the parts and service department was extensive because Stanley Sr. considered it the business' cornerstone.

Wood Chevrolet didn't have much time to establish its place in the community before World War II changed everything. From 1942 to 1946, General Motors' factories were dedicated to the war effort and no new cars were built for civilians. Only people like doctors and mail carriers could get permits to buy new cars.

With most of their younger help drafted, the fledgling business survived those lean war years on the service work of Stanley Sr. and another senior manager. They never forgot it. Service became a motto at Wood Chevrolet, reflected in everything from up-to-date shop equipment to free rides to work for customers while their cars were in the shop.

"I heard him say more than once: 'A car dealership is kind of like a hospital. You've got people in trouble and you've got to help them,'" Wood said.

Over the years, Stanley Sr. got increasingly involved with community projects, leaving Wood with more responsibility at the dealership. Even as he was learning how to run things on his own, he didn't lose sight of the little things, like that sidewalk. Some of his friends got a kick out of seeing the grown-up Wood returning to his boyhood chore.

"My friends would drive by and see me out there sweeping that sidewalk and they'd say, 'Boy, Stan, I'm sure glad you've got yourself something to do,'" Wood said.

Indeed, Wood had plenty to do, and as he grew older, his community involvement increased - something he again chocks up to Dad's influence.

Wood taught Sunday school, volunteered with the Kiwanis Club and served as a Scout master for the Boy Scouts. He served on the Batesville City Council and the Water Utility Commission. He helped campaign for the sales tax that helped make the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville possible and later served on its board.

The White River Water Carnival has regularly benefited from Wood Chevrolet's cars for its parade, and countless other charities and fundraisers have featured Wood's donated prizes.The White River Water Carnival gave back this year, naming Wood the 2009 White River Water Carnival King.

"[I did all those things to] give back to the community," Wood said. "You live here, and you give back to the town for everything they've given to you."

Stanley Sr. helped White River Medical Center get started in Batesville. He was a church deacon for years and was the kind of guy who wore a suit every day and introduced himself to everyone he met. Wood said his father was ambitious, a true businessman, while he considers himself to be better at satisfaction than ambition.

"Depression people don't have the same outlook as other people," Wood said. "We never had much money, so what you do have, well, you cherish it."

As an example, Wood pointed out that he and his wife, Mary Jeanette, still live in the house they built in Batesville's historical downtown area in 1950 (they met in college; "She was Homecoming Queen 1947," Wood said. "She was pretty spectacular.She attracted my attention. She was a catch."). Ten blocks from work, Wood said they've always been satisfied with the home they could easily have traded for something bigger, better, fancier - but never wanted to.

Wood and Mary Jeanette both grew up without siblings. They have three children, 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

"We kind of wanted the company," Wood said.

At the most recent of their regular family dinners, 25 people attended. All of their children live and work in Batesville, including Scott, who at 59 is now actually the dealer and franchise owner for the combined Chevrolet and Chrysler franchise. Wood's official title these days is president.

In Scott, Wood sees a naturalborn businessman like Stanley Sr., who died in 1989, working right up until the end, just the same as Wood intends to do.

Having grown up with General Motors is such a big part of his life, it's hard for Wood to believe the company's recent troubles. He and his father worriedabout competition from Ford, and that was about it. Scott and the younger generation will face challenges he never imagined, but Wood is predicting they'll find a way. Their customers have always been good to them, and there's always Stanley Sr.'s oldmaxim about service to differentiate them from the rest.

"I'm an optimist," Wood said. "People are going to still be buying cars, and we're going to be selling something." - awidner@ arkansasonline.commatter of

factBirthday: Dec. 8, 1927 Occupation: Chevrolet dealer Family includes: Wife, Mary Jeanette; three children: Scott Wood, Janet Wood and Karan Skinner; 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren Hobbies: Golf. Used to spend a lot of time outdoors: quail hunting and swimming and boating on the White River and Greers Ferry Lake I cannot live without: My wife, Mary Jeanette When I was young I wanted: To follow in my dad's footsteps and take over the car dealership What makes me mad: Seeing people with poor work ethic who are indifferent to what they ought to be doing The person I admire most: My father My favorite memory is: Spending time in Tillar, Ark., with my grandparents, living the farm life. I spent summers there as a child. They kept a horse for me, and there were cattle. I got to play cowboy a bit The world would be a better place if: We could quit being so partisan about politics - Republicans, Democrats - instead of doing what's right for the country