How We See It: Heifner Did Her Best For Fayetteville Over Years

"Does doing your best never count?"

That question was posed in 1999 by Marilyn Johnson, who was then a Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce employee engaged by city officials to promote Fayetteville. She made the comment in a moment of frustration over a lawsuit by people attempting to stifle construction of a new event center on the downtown square.

What’s The Point?

Although she has maintained an earned identity as a sometimes contentious leader, Marilyn Heifner deserves accolades for many of her contributions to Fayetteville’s future.

Today, she's Marilyn Heifner, who has served as the city's chief paid promoter for 22 years. That's coming to an end Jan. 31, the last date Heifner intends to work. She announced her pending retirement early this week.

Heifner's story over the last few decades runs a close parallel to Fayetteville's story. Today, she's executive director of the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission, a panel responsible for allocating millions of dollars each year local taxpayers and visitors pay on restaurant meals and hotel stays. But she's been involved in the city's leadership for a long, long time.

Some who have come to know her in her current role may not even realize she was once mayor of Fayetteville, back in the day when city managers ran the day-to-day operation and the mayors came from the membership of the elected board of directors. She served as president of the Arkansas Municipal League and helped lead the city through much of the 1980s. She was at the helm during the controversial Fayetteville plan to build a garbage incinerator as an alternative to hauling trash to landfills. The city committed to the project and even sold millions of dollars in bonds to fund it before holding a public vote in the midst of vocal opposition. Voters rejected the measure, the city had to pay off its debts for a project that was never built and Johnson was defeated at the polls in 1988.

It was a tumultuous time that contributed to Fayetteville's 1992 change in government to a mayor-council form. But Johnson didn't go anywhere. She has continued to be a force for Fayetteville's advancement in the years since, working at the chamber of commerce as part of a city contract for promotion then becoming the full-time executive director of the advertising commission. She's one of those personalities who earn admirers and detractors -- and this newspaper has been in both camps over the years -- but she has made an overall positive difference for the town she's help lead.

Heifner has been a strong advocate for the town she loves. Her agency's millions and her influence have helped advance ideas into reality in the form of the Fayetteville Town Center, the Clinton House Museum and the Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks. Its promotional work has drawn helped draw millions of people and their wallets through support for events like Bikes, Blues and BBQ, the Joe Martin Stage Race and other smaller events. Through much of her time, she has done commendable work for the betterment of Fayetteville.

We cannot avoid mention of the fact this newspaper called for her resignation a few years back over her purposeful efforts to hide information about a land deal from the public. She was wrong. The majority of the commission stood behind her.

But back to that opening question: Yes, doing your best does count. As we view Heifner's contributions to Fayetteville in their entirety, we must commend her for doing her best and suggest, on balance, the town is better for having Heifner in its corner. As she prepares to retire, we wish her well.

Commentary on 09/20/2014

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