Walk the walk - Rotary honors lifelong public servant

In his political career, Dick Barclay had a reputation for reaching across the aisle to build consensus -- almost a job requirement when he was an upstart young Republican elected to finish a respected Democrat's term. He served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1976 through 1992, working with the diametrically opposed Bill Clinton and Frank White -- then Clinton again -- finally joining Mike Huckabee's team when he was governor.

Longtime friends and fans in Rogers know Barclay never let anything stand between him and his desire for the greater good.

"As I have said many times, Dick was Republican before Republican was cool," said Rogers attorney David Matthews, who worked as a volunteer for Barclay's Democratic opposition back in 1976. "When Dick joined the Arkansas House of Representatives in December 1976, he was in a distinct minority. But he immediately became very effective. He learned early on that, in order to have a positive influence for his constituents, he would need to work with Democrats to get things done. He always did that."

"He was responsible for making the Republican Party in Benton County one of the strongest county GOPs in the state," added Ed McClure, a Rogers attorney who met Barclay through Matthews in the early 1980s. "His ability to relate to all kinds of folks, his intelligence on hard issues, and his willingness to see both sides of any debate served him well. ... Folks of all stripes were drawn to him."

Besides, McClure added, Barclay, an accountant by training, supported the growth of Rogers Little Theater -- now Arkansas Public Theatre -- an endeavor particularly close to McClure's heart.

"Clearly, an accountant who could see the values of the arts is a person who 'crossed the aisle' for the benefit of the community."

This summer, it's the Rotary Club of Rogers that's crossing the aisle, so to speak, naming Barclay -- who was never a Rotarian -- as the recipient of the Dick Daniel Distinguished Citizen Award. Now in its fourth year, the honor recognizes "individuals who strive toward the highest level of community involvement, influence and dedication of time and energies toward making our community a better place to live." A nominee must, to state the criteria, have demonstrated excellence, creativity and initiative in improving the community; provided valuable service by devoting time and energy to improving the quality of life for others in the community; and assisted others in developing and utilizing their full leadership potential in the community.

"The Rotary motto is 'Service Above Self,' and Mr. Barclay has given selflessly to our community," said club member Nathan Gairhan, who nominated Barclay along with fellow member John Evans. "Anyone that spends any time with Dick will see his many connections and influences on Rogers and Northwest Arkansas.

"He is a kind, gracious servant leader who always treats everyone like they are part of his family."

Old-Fashioned

Barclay, who turned 81 on June 5, said growing up in a small town in western Kansas -- "in a conventional home with my mom and dad and my brother" -- rooted him firmly in traditional values. "I loved the values we held dear back then, and I guess that hasn't changed," he said in a 2004 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette profile. "My family, church, community and all my friends are still the most important things in my life."

Barclay knows that might sound "corny." But he walks the walk of the small-town boy he once was. Even now, when remembering names and dates is a challenge, he rises to the occasion, recognizing the faces he's known around town. His son, John Barclay, a pastor at Fellowship Bible Church of Northwest Arkasansas in Rogers, said his dad learned it from some of the best -- Clinton and Huckabee, who always knew the names of Barclay's wife and kids.

"When you're an accountant, you look at numbers first," John Barclay said. "He was always detail oriented and fiscally responsible. But community has always been so important to him. So important. He let people see that he cared about them."

As a boy, John remembers, no one thought a thing about him riding his bike from their home in Summit Heights to his dad's downtown Rogers accounting office, which was on the street level of what is now Haas Hall. "You couldn't do that now," he said of the trip in along Arkansas 12. But Rogers was different then, too. John made money mowing lawns downtown and hung out at the Coca Cola Bottling Co. across the street -- the same kinds of things his dad might have done at that age.

But his dad valued hard work then as he does now.

"I have a vivid memory of Dad pulling me out of bed one Saturday morning to pick up trash along Highway 12," John said. "I don't think I ever littered again! And I can still point out the area we cleaned up."

Like everything else his father taught him, cleaning up the roadside contributed to the public good, he said.

The senior Barclay was raised the same way in Oberlin, Kan., starting his first job as an errand boy for a pharmacy when he was a sixth-grader. He has often said working as a soda jerk as a teenager prepared him for public service.

"The customer is always right."

Love and Marriage

A high school journalist, Barclay might have decided to become a sports editor. Instead, he majored in business administration and social science at Kansas State University in Manhattan -- which, he said, was less important to his future than getting to know Jan Forbes, who would become his wife and the mother of his three children.

"Meeting Jan was one of the most important things in my life."

They were married in 1960 and moved to Rogers to help his brother in a growing accounting business. Both thought they might stay a few months or a year. Jan Barclay, who wanted to work as a buyer in the fashion business, certainly didn't imagine putting down roots. Smiling, she said she found her niche as a teacher and counselor -- and had her retail store in the 1980s in Vinson Square downtown.

"The best thing we ever did was to make Rogers our home," Dick Barclay said in 2004. "I can't imagine living anywhere else. Northwest Arkansas has been and still is a great place for families."

Barclay gave back as good as he got, working on a local level with the Rogers City Council, Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce, the Northwest Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute, Mercy Health System, the Northwest Arkansas Council and First Christian Church of Rogers (Disciples of Christ.) But Matthews said Rogers was always first on his mind on a state level, too.

"Dick was instrumental in the acquisition of the (Roscoe) Hobbs estate by the state of Arkansas, leading to the creation of Hobbs State Park," Matthews said. "This is an example of leadership that will last through generations.

"Likewise," he added, "Dick was one of the co-sponsors of the legislation that created Northwest Arkansas Community College. Originally dubbed the 'college without walls,' NWACC has prospered to become the second largest community college in Arkansas. It is safe to say that literally thousands of lives have been touched by this single piece of legislation."

Barclay gave up his seat in the state House of Representatives to run for Congress in 1992 -- when John Paul Hammerschmidt retired -- but he lost the GOP primary to Tim Hutchinson. Barclay returned to public service on Gov. Mike Huckabee's first executive team in 1996 and was appointed the state's chief fiscal officer and director of the Department of Finance and Administration in 1999.

"Dick Barclay is one of the finest men I've ever known," Huckabee wrote in an email. "His skills as a CPA and a highly respected legislator were vital to our administration.

"On a personal level, Dick's personal integrity and sense of honor and duty are just stellar," he added. "I'm so glad that his hometown Rotary Club is honoring this exemplary public servant."

"As far as I am concerned, Dick Barclay is the quintessential example of a public servant," Matthews agreed. "He was never concerned about himself, but always concerned about his constituents. He lived to serve others. The world could use a lot more Dick Barclays."

NAN Our Town on 07/19/2018