Today is my last day as president of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, and it has been an interesting two years, to say the least.
A lot of progress has been made, costs have been cut, and we have fulfilled my promise to not take one penny of state or federal money (a large grant was actually returned).
Still, it hasn't happened without some humor. Like the time Nancy Williams, a board member and secretary of the executive committee, called to say our electric bill was $4,800 for one month.
Williams, who has worked diligently the past two years to cut costs among other things, had Zach Vint working on it. It seems a power outage a couple of years earlier had caused our zoned heat and air to reset itself. One zone was set for 88 degrees and the one next to it was set for 62 degrees, which cause them to battle each other continuously.
After resetting the computers, our next bill was less than $1,000.
Admittedly, my term began at a tumultuous time. A longtime employee had misappropriated funds for personal use. It had been going on for several years but wasn't discovered until four months before I became president.
Fortunately Andrew Meadors, who was president at the time, offered to see that through to the end, and that was a huge help.
The first thing on the agenda was a meeting with Keith Ingram, first vice president, and Richard Johnson, second vice president. Both are intelligent, experienced businessmen.
Ingram is a co-owner of Razorback Concrete and a state senator. Johnson is a president with Simmons Bank in the investment division. We all agreed to ask Williams to help us cut costs. She agreed on one condition -- that she be a volunteer an not a paid employee.
In the past two years almost $400,000 was cut from the yearly budget.
When my term began, we had enough operating capital left for less than a month and were looking at having to borrow more than $250,000.
With an absolutely great executive committee and a great board, things began to change quickly.
I should reassure you that as someone who has served on the board since 1988, the goal of every person on the board is to always make induction into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame the greatest honor for people from the world of perspiring arts in our state.
Yes, there are some who have special interests, but every college in Arkansas has at least one board member and most have more than one. Meetings can be spirited, but the Hall of Fame always comes first.
The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame belongs to people of Arkansas. Membership is open, it is reasonable at $75 per year (and that includes a windshield decal and free admission to the museum) and every vote counts.
Speaking of the museum, it has successfully been converted into a museum/conference center that can accommodate meetings and parties for as many as 200 people. What a great place for a birthday party.
The progress that has been made is because of good men and women willing to serve the Hall of Fame and preserve its honor and dignity.
I was blessed to be surrounded by great people these past two years. There are too many to name them all; but, thanks to some very special people, like Williams and Kathy Delone, when all the bills are paid for tonight's banquet, we will have enough operating capital for more than a year and a very solid endowment to ensure the future of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame for years to come.
In closing, congratulations to the latest class of inductees on an honor well-deserved.
Sports on 02/27/2015