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[Page S139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
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REMEMBERING DICK BARCLAY
Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, today I wish to remember and pay
tribute to Dick Barclay. Dick was a friend and civic leader from
Rogers, AR, who passed away from complications due to Alzheimer's last
week at the age of 81.
Born in Oberlin, KS, Dick attended Kansas State University before his
honeymoon brought him to Arkansas. Dick and Jan eventually moved to
Rogers where Dick, along with his brother Charles, opened a successful
public accounting firm that served the area for decades. When I first
moved to Rogers in the 1970s, naturally, Dick was one of the first
people I met and someone I quickly grew to lean on and turn to for his
consistently sound advice.
In addition to his successful career as a trusted accountant in
northwest Arkansas, Dick put his belief in community service into
practice throughout his entire life. He served in the Arkansas House of
Representatives from 1976 until 1992. In 1996, he joined Governor Mike
Huckabee's administration, where he put his financial expertise to use
as executive director of budget, legislative affairs, and policy. He
went on to become Arkansas's chief fiscal officer and directed the
Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration in 1999.
Dick didn't believe that holding public office alone was where his
call to service ended, though. He was active among many different
groups and organizations that worked to improve life in Rogers and in
greater northwest Arkansas. A few such roles included serving on the
board of the Northwest Arkansas Community College Foundation, as
president and board member of the Rogers Little Theater, chairman of
the Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce, commissioner of the Arkansas
Economic Development Commission, member and president of the Northwest
Arkansas Council, and chairman of the Arkansas State Chamber of
Commerce. He also led the Benton County Republican Party for a time.
A man of strong faith, Dick was a board chair and elder at First
Christian Church in Rogers. One of his sons went on to lead services at
Fellowship Bible Church, and Dick, along with his wife, was proud to
attend services there to show his support. He has already been
remembered by others as being a devoted family man and a person of
principle and integrity with the highest ethics. He was all these
things and more, including a talented musician who played in a
bluegrass band with friends and also performed with a barbershop
quartet.
As a former colleague described him, Dick Barclay was a
``quintessential public servant.'' He had a tremendous impact across
northwest Arkansas. His example of leadership and dedication are truly
worthy of emulation by anyone who wishes to do the important work
required to better their own town, community, and entire state.
I greatly admired and respected Dick and will feel his loss keenly,
as will so many others in Rogers and throughout Benton County and
northwest Arkansas. My thoughts and prayers are with Jan and the entire
Barclay family at this difficult time. Dick's legacy of service, his
ever-present positivity, and the difference he made in countless lives
will be remembered for years to come.
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