AAC Presents Wes Fowler Advocacy Awards

Left: Eddie A. Jones, a longtime Randolph County Treasurer, former AAC Executive Director, and current AAC consultant and liaison to the Arkansas County Treasurers’ Association, received the Inaugural 2017 Wes Fowler Advocacy Award. Right: Sherry Bell, who recently retired as Columbia County Clerk, was selected to receive the 2018 Wes Fowler Advocacy Award.

Wes Fowler Advocacy Award presented to 2 longtime county officials at AAC conference

The AAC Scholarship Committee will select the recipient of the award on an annual basis

Story by Christy L. Smith Photos by Holland Doran AAC Communications Staff

The Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC) awarded its first two Wes Fowler Advocacy Awards during its 50th anniversary conference in August.

Eddie A. Jones received the Inaugural 2017 Wes Fowler Advocacy Award, while retired Columbia County Clerk Sherry Bell received the 2018 Wes Fowler Advocacy Award. The awards recognize a county or district official who best embodies Fowler’s dedication to local government and demonstrates “tireless work in boldly advocating for the counties of Arkansas.”

Jones was a longtime Randolph County treasurer and former executive director of the AAC. He continues to serve county government in the role of consultant for the AAC and liaison to the Arkansas County Treasurers’ Association.

“Winning the Inaugural Wes Fowler Advocacy Award caught me totally by surprise, but what a genuine honor,” Jones said. “Wes and I were good friends for many years and worked closely together on county issues right up to the time of his death. I have devoted 38 years of my life advocating for county government. County government has a special place in my heart and so does this award given in honor of my good friend.”

Randolph County Circuit Clerk and AAC Board President Debbie Wise presented the advocacy award to Jones, noting Jones was probably “the most obvious choice” to receive the inaugural award.

“But because he is so unassuming and humble about his work in county government he often does not get the credit he deserves. Once labeled ‘A Walking Encyclopedia of County Government’ in an AAC magazine, this man has truly forgotten more about county government than most of us will ever know,” Wise said.

AAC Executive Director Chris Villines and Wise presented the 2018 Wes Fowler Advocacy Award to Bell, who began her county government career in 1982 as an employee in the Columbia County Assessor’s office. She became a Level 4 Appraiser during her 15-year tenure in that office. She was unsuccessful in a bid for county treasurer in 1996, but ran for county clerk in 1998 and was elected.

Bell served as an AAC Board member, AAC Legislative Committee member, and as president of the Arkansas Association of County Clerks during her tenured career as an elected

county official.

Villines said Bell “probably never envisioned as a child in Chicago that she would someday be a revered county official in Arkansas.” Villines called Bell “self-driven” and “persistent.”

“Like Wes Fowler, who had a broad knowledge of several offices in the county, Sherry is a Swiss army knife of a courthouse with an understanding of many facets,” he said.

The advocacy award was established last year following the death of Wes Fowler, who spent decades working in Madison County government before finishing his career at the AAC as Governmental Relations Director.

Villines explained that, though Fowler passed away in early 2017, the association was unable to present the inaugural award at last year’s AAC conference. As a result, the AAC Scholarship Committee made two selections to award at this year’s conference — one for the inaugural 2017 award and another for 2018.

The award will be given annually to a county or district official that has exhibited great passion for advocacy over the previous year.

“The winners of these awards will receive an Arkansas County Diamond Award and will be honored in perpetuity at the Association of Arkansas Counties with a permanently placed plaque and names added each year,” Villines said. 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.

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