In a tiny town just outside of Philadelphia lives a boy who will tell anyone who asks that he knows exactly where heaven is.
“In my paper,” he writes in a start-of-school essay about summer vacation, “Arkansas will now be known as heaven.”
Don’t believe him? A trip to Jan Zimmerman’s back porch will set you straight. With a sweeping view of the Arkansas River, the Big Dam Bridge and Pinnacle Mountain, it’s where her seven grandchildren — including the boy from Pennsylvania — spend summer afternoons competing in rounds of Quiz Bowl after baking brownies. When it gets too hot, they’ll go inside and dig through bins of Legos, their grandmother never leaving their side, plopping right on the carpet next to them to help build the next tower.
With days like that, it’s little wonder that one of her neighbors wants to be reincarnated as a Zimmerman grandchild. Each summer, the seven grandkids rotate in and out for visits. Their visits recall summers that Zimmerman spent in Little Rock in the ’60s visiting her aunt and cousins. Back then, it was Park Plaza that made Arkansas heaven, with its open-air shopping and fountains full of goldfish. That was enough for a 14-year-old Zimmerman to know she’d end up moving away from her small Mississippi hometown to live in the Arkansas capital someday.
And when Jan Zimmerman sets her mind to something, chances are it’s going to get done.
SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
Like many proud daughters, it’s hard for Lea May to describe how proud she is of her mother without getting teary.
“I have so much respect for her and who she is,” May says. “She is such a great example of being fully committed to whatever you get involved in and really living.”
For Zimmerman, her full commitment has shifted over the years, from mother and real estate agent to grandmother and passionate volunteer. And for the last year, much of that passion has been directed toward a house at 1800 Center St. in Little Rock. She’s often there three or four days a week, and sometimes she’ll startle awake in the middle of the night to scribble down a note on something that needs fixing on its grounds.
She may not live there, but for Zimmerman, the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion is a second home.
After being appointed to the Governor’s Mansion Association board a decade ago, Zimmerman quickly went from an adviser who attended monthly meetings to someone who could easily give a detailed tour of the mansion to visitors. The association, a private nonprofit, raises money to maintain and improve the mansion through a handful of fundraising pushes throughout the year.
In early 2015, Zimmerman began a two-year term as president of the association, injecting her energy into the group’s annual schedule of fundraisers and programs. The association’s Governor’s Mansion Circle — donors who pledge $1,000 or more per year to help with mansion costs — now has a waiting list. The latest First Lady’s Tea, held at the mansion in the spring, was so successful under her eye that the event will likely expand to two pourings next year.
“[Working with Jan] is like working with a cheerleader,” first lady Susan Hutchinson says. “She’s incredibly intelligent, very well connected, organized and visionary. … I would not be able to get everything done without the help of the association and her leadership.”
Zimmerman and Hutchinson are working to bring back a statewide high school art competition sponsored by the mansion. And there is music: To mark former Gov. Mike Beebe’s last days in office, Zimmerman worked with Arkansas Symphony Orchestra conductor Philip Mann on a benefit concert for the mansion association that was full of Napoleonic-era tunes, Beebe’s favorite. This month, the symphony returned to the mansion, and Zimmerman persuaded the first lady to accompany them on the piano, in front of hundreds of visitors.
“Jan’s ability to multitask, to network and to make each facet of the mansion association a ‘work in progress,’ using many talents within the membership, is amazing to watch,” Don Bingham, mansion administrator, says. “It was obvious from our first meeting that Jan knew how to work with people. Her enthusiasm and inclusive demeanor was contagious.”
And then there were the updates to the mansion itself.
“It was time to take a look at the infrastructure of the mansion,” Zimmerman says. “Susan Hutchinson believes that we need to look at things from the inside out, and I agree.”
Completed in 1950, the mansion has ongoing needs for plumbing and electrical work and repairs to the plaster walls throughout.
Updates are also constant in the Grand Hall, an addition opened in 2003 to accommodate large parties and events. The hall was championed by Janet Huckabee while her husband, Gov. Mike Huckabee, was in office, and Zimmerman is steadfast in referring to the space by what she considers to be its full name — The Janet Huckabee Grand Hall.
“It’s not that anyone wants to come in and just redecorate, it’s the maintenance that takes a toll,” Zimmerman says.
As she talks about the care of the house, Zimmerman often uses the word “we” to refer to a team that includes herself, Hutchinson, Bingham and other house staff members who confer often on how to maintain the property. They also form the team that handles event direction at the house, with Zimmerman in tune with every detail that’s happening behind the scenes.
“Jan has a knack for making it all run smoothly without coming across as frazzled or stressed, and that is a unique quality,” says her longtime friend Lori Sloan of Searcy. “It’s hard to greet everyone at the door like they’re the most special guest when there might be a crisis in the kitchen, but she handles the pressure with grace.”
Once donors are in the door, Zimmerman is quick to point out improvements that have been taken care of by the association. She feels that seeing those results keeps donors active and willing to donate again.
Inside the Grand Hall, sconces have been added to match the room’s vintage chandelier. A custom carpet, complete with the name of every governor who has lived in the house, has been updated twice. As napkins and tablecloths wear thin and chairs begin to wobble, it’s up to Zimmerman’s group to replace them.
Most pieces are either antiques or high-end reproductions, bought from Arkansas businesses as often as possible. It’s not unusual for Zimmerman and the first lady to spend hours hunting for just the right set of ecru, hemstitched napkins. She has a patience for that kind of searching, one instilled in her long before she had a Governor’s Mansion to shop for.
As a girl, Zimmerman spent weekends touring Mississippi plantation homes with her grandmother, admiring the furniture and decor and returning so often that she’d memorize the tour scripts.
“Most kids were working their after-school jobs to buy new clothes, but I was buying vintage candlesticks and antiques,” Zimmerman says.
ARKANSAS MADE
For most of her childhood in southern Mississippi, Zimmerman lived with her maternal grandparents while her mother cared for her father. Diagnosed with lupus, her father died when she was 14 years old.
“One of the family values we have with our grandchildren now is that they are so close to their cousins and family,” Zimmerman says. “When my dad was sick, it was my aunts and cousins who paid for my homecoming outfit and our Christmases. I’m who I am now because of those relationships.”
After years of summers in Little Rock visiting her family, Zimmerman finally fulfilled her dream of living in Arkansas full time in the early ’80s, when she moved to raise her daughter Lea and son Bo. By that time, Zimmerman had gone through a divorce and was settling into a routine with work and school. A second marriage was not in the picture — until she met Don.
A case of blind date confusion — “Are you Susie?” — led eventually to lunch and, just six weeks after their first official date, a wedding.
“My friends thought I was crazy. They were hysterical worrying about me,” Zimmerman says. “A couple friends even called to tell me, ‘You don’t want to do this.’”
The couple will celebrate their 31st wedding anniversary in a few weeks.
Among the little things that keep their relationship going is a shared passion for the state of Arkansas. Don, an attorney who serves as executive director of the Arkansas Municipal League, says that focus was a blessing. After all, this is the woman who agreed to spend her honeymoon at a national League of Cities conference.
“Jan has so many abilities to bring to the table in helping our state,” Don says. “People have always kidded me that if I’m leaving the state I’ll fill up before I cross the border and come back on fumes just so I can keep my money in the state. And Jan’s right there with me.”
They also share a passion for family. Just before meeting, both Zimmermans had prayed to find a partner who would love their children.
“I just wanted someone who looked forward to coming home in the afternoons, maybe wanted to take a few vacations with me and who was kind to my kids,” Zimmerman says. “I found out later he had been asking God for the exact same thing.”
Together, they raised their three combined children and now dedicate hours to FaceTime calls, recitals and rounds of Quiz Bowl with grandchildren Garrison, Owen, Finn, Madison, Austin, Mary Evelyn and Cooper.
Each Christmas without fail, the Zimmermans open their Little Rock home to a crowd of 20-30 family members for a 6 p.m. dinner and group photograph of the youngest members of the family. Each Christmas photo has its place in a hallway in Zimmerman’s home that’s covered nearly floor to ceiling with family photos.
Sometime in the celebration, the family will make its way to Zimmerman’s second home on Center Street, where her latest vision for the mansion will be playing out.
For months, Zimmerman, the association and the mansion staff have been planning Christmas at the mansion, complete with life-size nutcrackers, holiday paintings from Arkansas artists and a different holiday theme in each public room. And chances are, the Zimmerman grandkids will be making an appearance at the mansion to take in the sights.
But even at the holidays, it’s doubtful Zimmerman will take the time to catch her breath before heading to the next challenge. Among them? Uncovering a hidden fireplace that the first lady discovered had been sealed off by bookcases in the library. Zimmerman is set on bringing the fireplace back to its original glory. And when she sets her mind to something, well …
“Success is measured in so many different ways. It’s measured in relationships and in lasting, physical changes,” Zimmerman says. “I hope [my time as president] will be seen as a time we accomplished a lot. That you can walk in and see how things have improved. That things have evolved with the needs of the public.”
SELF PORTRAIT
• DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: June 2, 1951, Hattiesburg, Miss.
• FAMILY: Husband Don and children G.G. Millard, Lea May and Bo Brister
• NICKNAMES: My grandchildren and their friends call me "Honey"
• ALWAYS BY MY BED: My glasses and a notepad to record great ideas in the middle of the night
• MY MOST PRIZED POSSESSIONS are my annual Christmas portraits of our grandchildren
• FAVORITE PLACE IN MY HOME: My deck
• FAVORITE HOLIDAY TRADITION: Our 6 p.m. family dinner on Christmas when each family member shares what they are thankful for
• PEOPLE SAY I REMIND THEM OF the Energizer Bunny. I have endless energy and stamina. It's hereditary. My mother and grandmother enjoyed this blessing as well.
• MY FAVORITE FAMILY RECIPE: My mother's chocolate pie with mile-high meringue
• FAVORITE PLACE IN THE GOVERNOR'S MANSION: The Janet Huckabee Grand Hall
• THE WORK I AM MOST PROUD OF: Being a dedicated grandmother to my seven wonderful grandchildren
• ONE WORD TO SUM ME UP: Dependable
High Profile on 10/25/2015