Season 2, Episode 5

 Catching up with “The Voice”

Ken and Carol Sibley

It’s hard to believe a full decade has passed since the quintessential voice of Lower Arkansas announced not only his retirement but also his departure from Magnolia for eastern Tennessee. After more than 60 years with Magnolia Radio—KVMA and KFMV as they were known—Ken Sibley turned off the mic, hung up the headphones and left the studio. He and Carol moved to Collierville, TN, where three of their five grandchildren lived, of course with their parents. 

Ken had held nearly every leadership position imaginable in church, city and county, in addition to his work in radio. He’s a great bus driver and excellent story teller to boot, which landed him a short tenure as a charter bus driver in the Memphis area. He drove me on my first children’s church camp trip to Siloam Springs and loves to describe the forlorn look on my face when he dropped me and 20 rowdy kids off for the week.

I caught up with Ken through the miracle of modern technology and enjoyed the virtual stroll down memory lane. We reminisced about people we worked with and some of the programs that aired back in the day. Today’s generation can’t appreciate The Friendly Show, The Mary K Show, I Remember When, Hospital Calling. A few folks remember some of the commercials that aired through the years: Bill Bigley's "Throw away your plumber's friend and call your friendly plumber Broadway" was a fixture in the '50s and '60s; the Magnolia Insurance spot that began with "The Fire Alarm has sounded in Magnolia!"

If you've never heard Ken's radio voice, here's your chance to be introduced. If you've been missing that friendly patter, then here's a shot of nostalgia for you. Whichever category you fit into, just click the link below and enjoy today's program! 

Season 2, Episode 4

Making the (economics) message clear

Dr. David Rankin (left) with Steve Ford

As a young man, David Rankin had never given any thought to becoming a college professor, let alone an administrator of higher education. His mother had moved back to Arkansas from Tennessee--first to Hot Springs, then to Junction City--after his father had died in World War II and he had just begun college. After a stint at factory work, he decided he preferred higher education and was attending Louisiana Tech University.

"David, have you ever thought about being a college professor," asked E. Carl Jones, professor where David was then currently enrolled. "It never crossed my mind the first time," David replied. "Colleges of business are growing like wildfire and they need young instructors to come out and help," Jones told him.  He had just successfully completed a presentation the previous week in class and decided to give it a try. He was accepted to Middle  Tennessee State University and decided he liked the field, so he later began a doctorate program at the University of Mississippi, where he met another student from South Arkansas. That was Louis Blanchard of Magnolia, who went on to become a long-time professor of accounting at SAU.

Rankin told Blanchard if they ever had an opening in finance at then-Southern State College to let him know. After David and wife Toni had talked it over, he decided to submit a resume.

One day the phone hanging on the wall in their married student apparent rang and David answered it. On the other end was the president of Southern State!

"I answered the phone and he said, 'Mr. Rankin, this is Imon Bruce at Southern State College, and we want to offer you a job as assistant professor of business at'—and I had told Toni, if they will offer me at least $8,000 I’ll  go to SSC. He said, "We’ll offer you as assistant professor of business for eight thousand and forty dollars.' I said, 'Dr. Bruce, sign me up, I’ll be there.'" He began his career here in 1968.

David had married the attractive redhead--literally the girl next door in Junction  City--and the two have three adult children, all of whom live near the family home. John and Curt are involved in the family timber business and Beth Anne Rankin Baker recently completed her doctorate from Vanderbilt University.

David has a gift for making the complicated simple and interesting. The "dismal science" as economics has been called is something David is passionate about. Witness his latest book, The Economics of Freedom written by Dr. Rankin with the assistance of daughter Beth Anne. The two have been promoting the book locally and a copy is available in our local library or for sale in the SAU bookstore on the square in Magnolia.

The book is also available through his website, RankinEconomics.com, where you can read his blog posts or watch the two-minute videos on a variety of topics. It's even possible to see money growing on a tree as you take in topics like inflation, government regulation, and debt monetization, each in about two minutes!

He currently serves as the chairman of the Governor's Council of Economic Advisors, now under his fourth governor. When the current SAU president resigned to go to Henderson, the Board of Trustees asked Rankin to return as interim president while a search is underway for his successor. He will serve in that position until June and becomes what I assume is one of few to be former president, president emeritus and interim president of an institution of higher education.

Having read up on all of his accomplishments, I must admit to being somewhat awe-struck at the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Rankin, and not the least because I know next to nothing about economics. But David's ability to make a complicated topic clear and his unfeigned humility made the interview really fly by.

As a long-time student of leadership, I asked him what he thought were traits of an effective leader.

"First," he replied, "I think you have to do everything you can to get rid of the ego. Pride and ego is just a downfall and they can just carry you down."

And second, he says, is the ability to listen to people.

"You have to listen to people, you have to be a participatory person," David told me. "That doesn't mean you allow all the organizations to make the decision, but you want to know and you want to be where people can come and look at you and say, 'I've got a complaint.'"

If you want to listen to people, I highly recommend you take a listen to today's podcast. You'll then want to pick up your own copy of his book, where you'll learn the importance of freedom to our economic system. You'll also learn the "secret weapon", what David calls the "secret sauce" of capitalism that is available in few other economies.

As always, click below to listen to the podcast and be sure to share this with others. You may learn something about the "dismal science" you weren't expecting!

Season 2, Episode 3

Finding fulfillment in L.A. 

Jerome Warner

Not everyone who calls Lower Arkansas home was born and raised here; some became L.A. citizens for various reasons. And if you scratch just beneath the surface or sit and listen a minute, you'll find some fascinating stories that make this area such an interesting place in which to live.

Take the case of Jerome Warner, who retired to Southwest Arkansas from Northeast Arkansas to afford his children the same opportunities to grow up as he and his late wife Linda had enjoyed. Larry Price suggested I look up Jerome where he volunteers down at the Columbia County Animal Protection Society (CCAPS) Thrift Store and find out what makes him what Readers' Digest calls "My Most Unforgettable Character."

Raised on a farm in Eastern Colorado, his family raised wheat and cattle as their main crops. He enlisted in the U.S. Army right out of high school and served for three years, ending his time as a surgeon's assistant in San Antonio, Texas. He studied public administration after leaving the Army, which enabled him to land a teaching position at the University of Nebraska. 

He spent 27 years of his life researching and providing delivery of public policy, usually aimed at providing services the consumer needed for economic or health purposes. It's important work that needs to be done, and he worked at it in Nebraska, Missouri and eventually Northeast Arkansas. 

After working hard at his career he and his wife decided to settle in a rural area where they could raise their family on a farm as they had been. They looked first at East Texas, but eventually settled here in Columbia County. The couple apparently passed on their values and intelligence, with a daughter who is a pharmacist and a son who is a clinical psychologist!

At 81 years of age, one might think it's time to relax and take it easy, but that's not the path Jerome has chosen. He begins his day with either six or eight miles on the treadmill or bicycle, then usually heads down to the  CCAPS to put in several hours as a volunteer.

I read an article recently listing the eight habits of the happiest people in the world. They include eating a plant based breakfast, socializing daily, volunteering, napping, and having faith. I ask Jerome how he would rate on the happiness scale, and he gave himself a "B". 

As we wrapped up the interview and still thinking about happiness, I asked Jerome if he was happy he had moved to Arkansas those years ago.

"Yes," he told me thoughtfully, "I think all of us are happy with how everything has worked out.  We've had some various problems, difficult situations, but we've also had some very good situations. Thankfully, the good has won out."

Take a listen to this latest podcast and I think you will agree--you meet some of the world's most interesting people here in Lower Arkansas!