Fort Smith Business Titan, H.l. Hembree, Dies

H.L. Hembree III, a prominent Fort Smith businessman who was involved in trucking, banking, farming and many other pursuits, has died. He was 79.

He is preceded in death by his wife, Janelle Young Hembree. He is survived by his sons and their families: H. Lawson Hembree IV, his wife, Debbie, and their sons, Lawson V and Chris; and Scott Hembree and wife, Karen, and their daughters, Sara and Katie.

The family issued this statement Friday afternoon: 

A titan of the transportation industry, H.L. Hembree III, former chairman of Arkansas Best Corporation in Fort Smith, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2011, according to his family. Born Nov. 16, 1931, Hembree was 79.

Hembree joined Arkansas Best Freight System in 1958. When Arkansas Best Corporation was formed as the parent company of ABF in 1966, Hembree was named President and then Chairman and CEO in 1973. He retired in 1988.

During Hembree’s career, Arkansas Best Corporation grew from a major Arkansas company to a diverse and major national corporation.

Apart from his business career, Hembree was deeply involved in the Boy Scouts of America, serving on the National Executive Board for nearly a decade, as well as being involved on the local level with his sons, Lawson and Scott.

Funeral arrangements are pending with Edwards Funeral Home, Fort Smith.

HEMBREE CORPORATE HISTORY


Hembree, born Nov. 16, 1931, in Fort Smith, graduated from Fort Smith High School. In 1953 he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas, and earned his juris doctorate in 1958.

In 1958 Hembree joined what was then Arkansas Best Freight System and worked with company founder Robert A. Young Jr., who was also the company chairman. In 1966, Hembree was named finance director, and Arkansas Best Corp. was formed as a holding company for the various businesses acquired to help diversify the business. One of those businesses was Riverside Furniture Co.

It was in 1968 that Hembree developed his taste for banking when ABC bought Dallas-based National Bank of Commerce.

Hembree was a top executive with Arkansas Best when the company’s trucking business began to emerge as a national player. In 1978, the company bought Denver-based Navaho Freight Line, which moved ABF Freight from the 22nd to the 8th largest national trucking company. In 1982 the company acquired East Texas Motor Freight, which would push ABF into providing service to almost 90% of the major U.S. metro areas.

Total revenue for the company grew from about $150 million in the mid-1970s to more than $500 million in the mid-1980s.

Hembree departed the company in 1988 following a hostile takeover attempt. Arkansas Best partnered with Kelso & Co. to successfully counter the takeover effort.

Arkansas Best Corp. issued this statement Friday afternoon: “Arkansas Best Corporation was saddened to hear of the death of our former Chairman and Chief Executive officer, H.L. Hembree. Beginning in the late 1950’s, H.L. Hembree served our company in a number of different capacities and he was a key part of ABF’s and Arkansas Best’s transformation from their beginnings as a small, Arkansas trucking company. At the time of his retirement in 1988 his leadership paved the way for the growth and success that followed. We will always be indebted to him for the significant contributions he made to our company. We send our sincere condolences to his sons, Lawson and Scott, and to their entire family.”

BANK, FARM LIFE


Hembree also served as a director of Merchants National Bank of Fort Smith between 1967 and 1997. He also was an owner of the bank. He continued to serve as a board member when the bank was purchased by Deposit Guaranty National Bank in 1997, and retired from the board in 1998.

The Hembree family also own and operate a large farm between Paris and Ozark. The land was provided to the Hembree family in 1830 by the administration of President Andrew Jackson.

“H.L. Hembree III capitalized on the abundant resources present at Sugar Hill Farms. He pioneered the growing of rice in this area of Arkansas,” notes a section from the Sugar Hill Farms website. “He also oversaw the addition of registered cattle to Sugar Hill Farms when he managed a Santa Gertrudis herd. The Santa Gertrudis were hardy cattle that thrived on Sugar Hill Farms then unimproved pastures and minimal management. H.L. Hembree also added a commercial cow-calf operation to the farm in the 1980s.”

BOY SCOUTS, ST. EDWARD
The many and varied corporate positions held by Hembree include: Board of Trustees, University of Arkansas, 1987-1997; director of the Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co.; board member of the Arkansas Razorback Foundation; board of trustees chairman, St. Edward Mercy Medical Center; directors, Sisters of Mercy Health System; board of trustees, John Brown University; board of trustees, Hendrix College; past board chairman, Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce; director, National Association of Manufacturers; director, Arkansas Industrial Development Commission; Justice of the Peace, Sebastian County (1958-1975); board chairman (three terms), Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce; and numerous leadership roles with national, regional and local Boy Scout organizations.

“The scouting community along with the community at large, we suffered a great loss today. I don’t know that I can easily sum up the impact H.L. Hembree has had on scouting,” said Bryan Feather, with the Boy Scouts of America in Fort Smith.

Feather said Hembree’s support went far beyond the financial.

“Beyond the financial contributions, to me the most valuable thing he has done for scouting is in giving us his time and talent. And he continued to do that right up to the time he passed away. … He has been a tremendous champion for scouting,” Feather said.

One of Hembree’s more prominent roles with Boy Scouts was his service with the High Adventure Committee of Philmont, a 137,493-acre wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rockies, that is operated by the Boy Scouts of America.

Hembree and William R. Walker — who died Nov. 23 — were cited Friday by Sister Judith Marie Keith as saving St. Edward Mercy during tough times in the late 1960s-early 1970s. In the early 1970s, the hospital was moved from downtown Fort Smith to the Rogers Avenue campus where it is now located.

“H.L. Hembree was a proud native son of Fort Smith, Arkansas, and he made significant contributions to the community,” said Keith, who served as CEO of St. Edward during the move. “I doubt the hospital would be here without his leadership. When St. Edward had very few friends, he stepped up.

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Michael Tilley with our content partner, The City Wire, is the author of this article. He can be reached by email at [email protected].