Benton County Circuit Clerk receives Wes Fowler Award

Left: Benton County Circuit Clerk Brenda DeShields has served her county in various positions in the circuit clerk’s office for 34 years. Above: AAC Executive Director Chris Villines (left) and AAC Board President Debbie Wise (right) present DeShields with the Wes Fowler Advocacy Award during the AAC’s 54th Annual Conference, held in Hot Springs/Garland County.

DeShields recognized during conference

Benton County Circuit Clerk is 2022 recipient of Wes Fowler Award.

Story by Christy L. Smith Photos by CAITLIN BROWN & CHRISTY L. SMITH AAC Communications Staff

Benton County Circuit Clerk Brenda DeShields has been awarded the Association of Arkansas Counties’ (AAC) 2022 Wes Fowler Advocacy Award for her “tireless work in boldly advocating for the counties of Arkansas.”

DeShields has worked in every facet of the Benton County Circuit Clerk’s Office for 34 years. She is an active member of the Arkansas Circuit Clerks Association, serving on several committees. She serves on the Legislative Committee, Executive Board, Automation Grants Committee, Program Committee, and New Elect Committee. She also is chair of the By-Laws Committee.

DeShields is a member of the AAC Board of Directors. Gov. Asa Hutchinson appointed her chair of the Arkansas E-Recording Commission, which she helped to create; and she was appointed by Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Dan Kemp to serve on the Criminal Code Committee, a subcommittee of the state’s Court Automation Committee.

In 2003, DeShields implemented imaging, a paperless system for filing documents. She also led Benton County in becoming the second county in the state to implement e-recording.

The Wes Fowler Advocacy Award was established in 2017 following the death of Fowler, who spent decades working in Madison County government before finishing his career at the AAC as Government Relations Director. The award is given annually to a county or district official that has exhibited great passion for advocacy over the previous year. A subcommittee of the AAC Board of Directors selects the recipient of the award. Recipients receive an Arkansas County Diamond Award and are honored in perpetuity at the AAC with a permanently placed plaque and names added each year.

Randolph County Circuit Clerk and AAC Board President Debbie Wise and AAC Executive Director Chris Villines presented the advocacy award to DeShields during the AAC’s 54th annual conference, held Aug. 10-12, 2022, in Hot Springs/Garland County.

“Our winner of the 2022 Wes Fowler Advocacy Award has never shied away from jumping into a role of leadership,” Wise said. “When her children were younger, she served on their school board.”

“Brenda has been an incredible ambassador for county government,” Villines said, noting her involvement in state

legislative sessions.

Arkansas Circuit Clerks Association President and Washington County Circuit Clerk Kyle Sylvester said Deshields “has proved to be a substantial voice for the Circuit Clerks Association and tirelessly works not only to establish the standard of excellence across the state for Circuit Clerks, but also has been a wealth of experience and knowledge to her fellow clerks across the state for many years.”

DeShields and her husband, Keith, have been married for 34 years. They have two adult children, Keeshia and Josh. DeShields is a basketball fan, counting her favorite NBA team as the Miami Heat. She regularly plans springtime vacations to Miami so she can watch them play on their home court.

She shares her love of basketball with her son. In a 2017 interview for the County Lines magazine, DeShields said she and her son keep a growing list of NBA home courts they have visited. And they get NBA updates on their phones so they can keep up with players’ playoff chances.

Past recipients of the Wes Fowler Advocacy Award are retired Columbia County Clerk Sherry Bell, former Randolph County Treasurer and AAC Executive Director (now consultant) Eddie A. Jones, Madison County Judge Frank Weaver, Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder, and Conway County Judge Jimmy Hart. Above: Wes Fowler served as Madison County Clerk for 10 years beginning in 1989. During that time, he served as legislative chair and in officer positions in the Arkansas Association of County Clerks. He was elected county judge in 1998 and continued to be active in the County Judges’ Association of Arkansas. He joined the AAC staff as Governmental Affairs Director in 2010, and continued to serve as a consultant to the AAC after he retired in 2014. Fowler passed away Feb. 1, 2017.