The Newport Area Chamber of Commerce honored Jim S. Gowen Sr. at its recent banquet by presenting him with the Outstanding Citizen Award.
“I was surprised,” said Gowen, 73. “It was quite an honor to receive it.
“I received it once before and never thought I would receive it again,” he said. “After receiving it this time, I looked back and found the plaque that I received in 1994. That was 22 years ago.”
Introducing Gowen at the banquet, on March 2 at the Newport County Club, Julie Allen, chamber director, said the 2016 Outstanding Citizen Award “is presented to an individual who truly embodies everything a town looks for in a model citizen.”
Allen said Gowen “has spent many years leading and developing projects that have produced industrial growth, sparked business development and spurred tourism.”
She said Gowen “has visited every state in the country but proudly hangs his hat in downtown Newport.”
A lot may have changed in Jackson County since the chamber honored Gowen with that first award, but his involvement and dedication to the city and county have not. He moved to Newport in 1983 to become president and senior lending officer at Merchants and Planters Bank and quickly became involved not only in his new business, but also in his new hometown.
“This is home. One thing I like about this community is that you had better not tell us we can’t do something because we will prove you wrong,” he said, laughing.
“Just look at this downtown park we are developing; we are doing it all with local money. If we are able to get an art complex … a museum … we will have the only such facility in northeast Arkansas,” Gowen said.
“We already have Depot Days and PortFest,” he said, referring to two annual festivals. “We already have a lot of things going, but we want to be able to attract tourists the year around.
“I’m real active on several committees in Newport and Jackson County.”
He is a founding member of DRIVE (Downtown Revitalization and Improvement Volunteer Effort), which is a small group of leaders determined to revamp the downtown section of Newport. He helped create a master plan for the renovation of the area and has worked to secure funds to implement the plan.
Gowen also serves on the Jackson County Commission and Economic Development Fund and has been involved with Rotary Club International and the Newport/Jackson County Industrial Bond Board.
“It is really vital that Newport and Jackson County become a tourist attraction,” Gowen said. “That would help with our economic development. Tourism is a big, big industry.
“We have a master plan to develop the downtown park, which will include a stage and a veterans memorial. As soon as we can get it built, we already have commitments from three different groups to provide entertainment on the stage once a week from April to October.”
Gowen said the stage and park would also be utilized during the annual Depot Days Festival.
“DRIVE has also acquired a doll collection of more than 7,000 dolls. We are looking for a building that could become the permanent home of that collection,” he said.
“We already have the Arkansas Rock ’n’ Roll Highway 67 Museum downtown,” he said, adding that the museum attracts visitors from all over the world.
“Jon Chadwell (director of the Newport Economic Development Commission) is looking at an old building that he would like to see renovated and turned into an art museum that could be used for the annual Delta Visual Arts Show,” Gowen said. “That event was just held in February and attracted 2,500 to 3,000 people to Newport and featured 185 artists.
“Developing an art museum would be a $2 million to $3 million project.”
Gowen said the DRIVE group would also like to see the development of a project to honor the late Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., who opened his first five-and-dime store (a Ben Franklin franchise store) in Newport.
Gowen said Jacksonport State Park is another tourist attraction for Jackson County. PortFest 2017 will be held at the state park June 10 and will include a variety of events, including a large lineup of tribute bands.
Gowen was born in Wynne in Cross County, the only child of Scott and Evelyn Gowen. He graduated from Wynne High School in 1961 and attended Arkansas State University.
“I didn’t graduate. I went for two or three years, and then I had to go to work. I went to work at a bank in Forrest City,” he said.
“It so happened that a state bank examiner came to examine our bank, and he talked to me about becoming a bank examiner. I was just a kid,” Gowen said.
“I sent in my resume, and it sat on somebody’s desk for quite a while. I gave up,” he said.
“Someone came through town and stopped at my dad’s service station, where I worked on Saturdays, and said, ‘I recognize you.’
“It wasn’t too much longer after that, and I received a call from them and got a job as a bank examiner. I worked as a bank examiner for several years in Little Rock.”
Gowen left that job and moved to Clinton, where he was president of Clinton State Bank for several years. He also served as president of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors during his time in that city.
“I came to Newport in October 1983 and went to work for Merchants and Planters Bank as president and senior lending officer,” he said. He is now chairman of the board of directors.
“This has been a wonderful experience for me,” he said, adding that when he came to the bank, it had two branches with total assets of $46.9 million. “The bank has grown through the years. We are now in five counties — Jackson, Independence, Prairie, Woodruff and White. We have 11 locations and assets exceeding $250 million.
“We offer full banking services and have a full trust department as well,” he said. “Many larger banks have trust departments, but not many small community banks offer that service. The trust department is a super department, and it adds to our bottom line.
“A few years ago, we bought an insurance agency. We now offer insurance and investment services through this independent agency.”
Gowen said one of the best things about Merchants and Planters bank is “our largest shareholders are our employees.”
“There is no controlling interest,” he said. “Employees have the option of buying stock in the company. This gives our people something for their retirement.”
Over the years, Gowen has been active in the Independent Community Bankers of America, a national trade association for community banks.
In 2014, he was named Banker of the Year for the Midwest Region of the Independent Community Bankers of America.
Gowen has served on several ICBA committees and boards, including the education committee, and as chairman of ICBA securities. He has also been on the Arkansas Community Bankers Board of Directors for more than 15 years.
He is a strong supporter and longtime board member of the Barret School of Banking in Memphis and is on the advisory committee of the Northeast Arkansas Higher Education Charitable Foundation, an organization dedicated to expanding higher-learning institutions.
Gowen and his wife, Nita, have been married 22 years. They live in downtown Newport.
“This is a second marriage for both of us,” he said. “Between us, we have three children.”
Their son, Jim S. Gowen Jr., 48, and his wife, Cindy, live in Newport, with their son, Scott, 12. Jim Jr. is president and CEO of Merchants and Planters Bank.
Jim Sr. and Nita’s older daughter, Tammy Jennings, 50, and her husband, Dr. Larry Jennings, live in Marshall. They have two daughters — Alex Coffman, 26, who lives in Jonesboro with her husband, J.A. Coffman, and their 2-year-old daughter, Blair; and Zoe Jennings, 22, who attends the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. Alex and Zoe both work at Bear State Bank — Alex, in Jonesboro, and Zoe, in Little Rock.
The Gowens’ younger daughter, Denisha Young, 45, and her husband, Chance Young, live in Monticello with their 3-year-old daughter, Chloe.
“We have a great family,” Jim Gowen Sr. said.