Philip Merry to seek Fort Smith city director position

Fort Smith businessman and community advocate Philip Merry announced Thursday (April 15) that he will run for the Position 7 (at-large) Fort Smith City Director position.

Dr. Cole Goodman has said he will not seek re-election to the Position 7 seat. The municipal primary election is scheduled for Aug. 10, with the general election on Nov. 2. The filing period for Fort Smith candidates is May 12 to Noon, June 1.

Merry, president of BMB Merry Insurance of Arkansas, has lived in Fort Smith since 1976 and said he wants to take his experience in numerous community organizations and events in the past decades to the city board.

"I feel compelled to share my knowledge and serve my city,” Merry said in a statement. “My top priorities are to help Fort Smith tend to its existing businesses and to attract new ones. I want to help Fort Smith, Arkansas evolve into an area where my children and yours choose to stay and grow and be prosperous right here in the Greater Fort Smith Region. I want to stretch this community to the best it can be. … I want to provide bold, visionary and productive leadership as a City Director.”

Some of Merry’s high-profile community work includes charter board chairman of the First Tee Chapter of Fort Smith, Second Street Live! board member, chairman of the Education & Quality of Place division of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, member of the U.S. Marshals Foundation board of directors, and board president of the Arkansas River Valley Animal Welfare Coalition. Merry was recently appointed by Gov. Mike Beebe to serve on the Arkansas Selective Service System. He was also a member of the charter 1988 Leadership Fort Smith class and served the next year as the chairman of the newly formed Leadership Fort Smith Alumni board.

Merry is most known for his leadership on the recently created Christmas Honors project that resulted in 12,000 Christmas wreaths with red bows placed at every grave site at the Fort Smith U.S. National Cemetery.

This is not Merry’s first foray into politics. He was elected for two six-year terms to the board of trustees of Westark College — now the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. He also served as Fort Smith’s Arkansas Constitutional Convention delegate in 1995.

The announcement from Merry also included the naming of a campaign team. Trent Goins will serve as campaign manager, Sheri Neely as treasurer and committee
advisors are Ashley Ellis, George McGill, Bryan Merry and Lea Taylor.

Merry was born in Tulsa in 1954, and graduated in 1976 from Westminster College (Fulton, Mo.) with a bachelor’s degree in business and economic administration.

Merry and wife Leigh have four children, Bryan (30), Justin (29), Mollie (26) and Abbey (21).