On losing Sam

Riff Raff, by Michael Tilley
[email protected]

I once got angry at Sam M. Sicard.

It was during my time as an employee of the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce. There was a meeting of the minds, so to speak. Much time was spent debating an issue of importance. And then Sam M. spoke up. Issue resolved. Meeting over.

“These meetings would be a helluva lot shorter if Mr. Sicard wasn’t so damned reserved,” I remember thinking. “He’s a leader. Why doesn’t he step up and be more vocal in his leadership?”

Just a few more months and years of watching Sam M. Sicard in action and learning more about how he evolved in his banking and community roles muted the erroneous anger. Further observation of the bank president provided an outline of his approach to personal and professional decision-making and leadership.

At great risk of oversimplifying and excluding exceptions, Sam M. Sicard often appeared to follow a five-step process in his decisions:
• Watch the issues and actors from a distance.
• Gather input from wise counsel.
• Mix the observations and input with previous outcomes and lessons learned from similar events/issues.
• From a selfless and apolitical perspective, evaluate what is in the greater good of the bank/community.
• Make a decision and make it happen.

Years later I was embarrassed at myself for being frustrated with Mr. Sicard’s reticence to be more aggressive in his leadership style, and was thankful I did not at the time express the immature frustration.

Sam M. Sicard, the president, CEO and chairman of First Bank Corp., died Sunday (Aug. 7). The Fort Smith region has lost several business and community leaders in the past few months — former Fort Smith Mayor Ray Baker, Fred Baker Sr., Jim Hanna, H.L. Hembree, Collier Wenderoth Jr.

But this loss is deeper, in the community sense. Not since the death of long-time Baldor chief Rollie Boreham in 2006 has this author been so moved as to what the loss of one soul might mean to the region.

At further risk of offending through oversimplification and excluding exceptions, the loss of Sam M. Sicard will reach into levels and branches of this community far beyond what anyone might estimate. The common refrain from those who knew him is that his abundant and selfless generosity was matched only by his desire to remain as anonymous as possible. They would also tell you his avoidance of the limelight was not a product of false modesty. They might say the avoidance was no less an unavoidable identifier than his fingerprints.

And his respect was seemingly universal. Even his banking competitors considered him an icon and community leader to which deference was happily offered.

Sam M. Sicard was Godfather-like. During the past several decades, there was typically a standard question raised during times of significant community trouble or opportunity: “What does Sam think?”

It would be easy to suggest such respect and influence was the result of his leadership of a multi-billion dollar banking operation; that fear of running afoul of his favor could prove fatal to a bottom line. But that would be an error no less immature in perspective than noted in the opening paragraphs of this essay.

His status was the product of an unqualified respect accumulated through years of possessing tremendous financial power, yet wielding it on a limited basis and with decisions and actions packaged with humility, selflessness and a transparent desire for community progress.

The story is that Sam M. Sicard passed away quietly Sunday morning sitting on a church pew next to Sharon, his wife. The only drama was of church members rushing to his aid. It’s easy to believe he would have been greatly embarrassed at the fuss, possibly the first fuss over himself in which he had no say since his birth.

But he didn’t pass quietly. Loud is his life and how he lived it. Just like that chamber meeting of so many years ago, Sam M. spoke up. And what I heard was an humble message about being a quiet but transformative leader through the use of wise counsel, considering previous lessons learned, selflessly evaluating the greater good without the blinder of a narrow world view, making the tough decisions and then working to make it happen. He also had the foresight to pass along a vessel of selfless leadership in the young man who is Sam T. Sicard.

If we are half as successful as Sam M. with respect to doing the right thing when it matters and doing the right thing when no one is looking, this community will have a chance not to screw up what he helped build up.

Issue resolved. Meeting over.

Thanks, Mr. Sicard.