Even though he grew up more than a thousand miles from Arkansas, it was as if Jim Adams’ whole life prepared him to move to Heber Springs.
The 32-year-old New York native moved to Heber Springs in 2005 to take an engineering job at GAR-BRO Manufacturing Co., and he worked his way up to president of the company. He’d never been to Arkansas before his job interview, but he said the community felt familiar.
Adams grew up in Massena, New York, near the Canada-U.S. border. He said it was a community of about 16,000 people.
“It was great. It was wonderful to have the four seasons. We’d do outdoor things; I grew up hunting and snow skiing and water skiing and playing golf,” he said.
His grandfather Earl White took him hunting in the mountains, and Adams said he learned a lot of life lessons, in addition to hunting skills. “Just how to treat people was the first thing, that no matter how someone is treating you, you need to treat them well — little life lessons, like it’s more important to have money in the bank instead of the newest car.”
Adams went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, to get his engineering degree.
“I’ve always been mechanically inclined. I’ve always liked working on things and tinkering with things,” he said. He thought he’d work for an automotive plant because he liked cars and, at that time, General Motors had a big powertrain plant in his hometown.
“There were a lot of engineers of varying flavors, I guess you’d say, in town,” he said.
Just before he graduated, he went to a college fraternity get-together where he met and “hit it off” with several alumni. One of the men emailed him later. “He said, ‘Hey, I know someone in Arkansas who owns a company and is looking for an engineer,’” Adams said.
Adams was serious with his then-girlfriend, Megan, who is now his wife. He figured he was young, and if he was going to make a move, it was time.
He said he researched GAR-BRO, which designs and manufactures equipment for the mass transport of concrete, and he was impressed. “The company was exactly what I was looking for: small, family-owned, takes care of its employees,” he said.
The landscape of Heber Springs reminded him of the Adirondack Mountains, too.
“It was rural, but not too awfully rural,” he said. “I said, ‘OK, I can do this.’”
The company flew him and his future wife down for another look. She planned to teach, so they toured the school district.
“We thought, ‘This could [be] really great,’ and it has been,” he said. Now they have a 3-year-old son, Grayson, and Megan is assistant principal of Heber Springs Elementary School.
Adams said that in addition to his late grandfather and his father, Bob Adams, his mentor has been Roland Garlinghouse, owner of GAR-BRO.
“He’s been a wealth of information in just training me in business … and always doing the right thing, even though it may not be best for the bottom line,” Jim Adams said.
“In corporate America, a lot of the larger companies that a lot of my college peers work for, it’s all about the bottom line,” and layoffs are a concern, he said. At GAR-BRO, “that’s not how we do things. During the recession, we reduced hours and kept everyone working. They do it right, the old-fashioned way, I guess.”
A few years ago, Adams joined the Heber Springs Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and he became its president this month. Julie Murray is the chamber’s executive director.
“It’s our second year of a new director. She’s done a wonderful job, and her staff has done a wonderful job,” he said.
Murray said it’s a “perfect time” for Adams to serve as president “because we (the chamber) are reinventing ourselves.” She said it’s an asset that Adams has been a longtime Heber Springs resident and has lived in a different part of the country. “He has a dual point of view, and I think that will make a big difference in us achieving our goals this year.”
Adams replaced Pete Harris as board president. Harris said Adams, true to his engineering
background, is “very detail-oriented.”
“I think he’s going to do just a great job with our chamber of commerce board,” Harris said. “He’s always been a dependable board member, always participating where needed, always showing up at different events.”
Harris said GAR-BRO doesn’t do as much business in Cleburne County as it does elsewhere, and the fact that Adams would take time out of his busy schedule to participate with the chamber and support the community “shows what kind of guy he is.”
Adams said his role as board president is to be a liaison between the chamber and prospective businesses, whether that means introducing clients to the mayor or county judge, or showing them around town.
He recalled that when he moved to Heber Springs in summer 2005, he attended the Fireworks Extravaganza, one of the chamber’s main fundraising events.
“I said, ‘My gosh, I cannot believe this little town has this kind of fireworks,’” he said, laughing. “For the size of the town, it’s one of the most impressive fireworks I’ve ever been to.”
The chamber is much more than events, though, he said.
Adams said the chamber is undergoing changes, including moving to a new location on South Seventh Street this year for more space and better visibility. Although the chamber has always provided benefits to members, he said that focus has intensified. Adams said it’s important for businesses to join the chamber because of the networking opportunities, No. 1, as well as perks such as online job postings, social media promotions and various training seminars.
“There are a lot of little benefits that people need to take advantage of,” he said.
“We’ve got to do what we can to nurture the businesses that are here. The oil and gas industries are tapering off. I don’t want Heber Springs to get stagnant,” Adams said. “We’ve got a good workforce here. We’ve got better infrastructure than we’ve had since I’ve lived here. We’ve got a lot to offer businesses.”
He said his parents have owned a house in Heber Springs for a few years, and they plan to move there permanently this summer from New York.
Adams has no doubt they’ll feel right at home.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.