Merry to receive LFS Jack White award

story info submitted by the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith

The Leadership Fort Smith Alumni Association has selected Philip H. Merry Jr. as the 2011 recipient of the Jack White Leadership Fort Smith Award and will recognize him and six individuals receiving community leadership awards at a June 2 banquet.

The Jack White Leadership Fort Smith Award is named for the late Jack White, a former community leader who made significant leadership contributions in the region. White, the Arkansas Manager for Oklahoma City-based Oklahoma Gas & Electric, was a graduate of the Leadership Fort Smith Class of 1990. The award was named in his memory in 1997, following his untimely death in July 1997.

Merry has held his current position as Arkansas area president for Gallagher Merry, a division of Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management, since June 2010. He has been active in the insurance industry since 1976 and was named the 1989 Agent of the Year by the Arkansas Professional Insurance Agents Association.

Merry, an elected member of the Fort Smith City Board of Directors, is also a member of the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, where he chairs the Education and Quality of Place division. In that capacity, he has created the Christmas Honors initiative whereby 12,000 Christmas wreaths, including red bows, were placed at every grave site at the Fort Smith U.S. National Cemetery in December 2009 and 2010.
 
Merry is an active participant in the activities of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith and is a former vice chairman of the Board of Trustees and has served on its Board of Visitors.

Merry’s past community efforts involve fund raising for numerous area non-profit groups and programs for children, including Humane Society Building Fund Drive, Little Theatre, the Art Center, United Way, Fort Smith Community Foundation, Second Street Live, Children’s Emergency Shelter, Fort Smith First Tee and the Mercy Classic.

Merry is a 1998 graduate of the first Leadership Fort Smith class and served as the charter alumni group chairman. He and his wife of 34 years, Leigh, have four children: Bryan, Justin, Mollie, and Abbey.

Community Leadership Awards will be presented to:
• Bill Hanna, president and chairman of the board, Hanna Oil and Gas Co., business and industry category;
• Cathy Williams, community partnerships and career education supervisor, Fort Smith Public Schools, education;
• Col. Thomas I. Anderson, commander, 188th Fighter Wing, government;
• Dr. John Hoffman, retired president and CEO, St. Edward Mercy Medical Center, health care;
• Jennifer Goodson, director, Fort Smith Public Library, non-profit; and,
• Dr. Jeff Crawford, lead pastor, Grand Avenue Baptist Church, religion.

The awards program, which is also a commencement ceremony for the current Leadership Fort Smith class, will be held June 2 at Golden Living, 1000 Beverly Way. A reception begins at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $35 per person. Seating is limited. Reservations are required and may be made by calling Linda Chaffin at the Leadership Fort Smith office, 788-7740 by Tuesday, May 24. All proceeds go to the Leadership Fort Smith Alumni Association Scholarship Fund. The event is sponsored by the Leadership Fort Smith Alumni Association.

Leadership Fort Smith, offered through the UAFS, provides an issues-oriented education program to 25 regional citizens annually, according to LFS Director Barbara Harvel.