#2BFayetteville

Hugh Kincaid 2016 recipient Hugh Kincaid was born and raised in Fay- etteville. After graduating from Fayetteville High School, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arkansas in 1959. He spent the next four years in Washington, D.C., first as trial counsel in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate Generals Corps, then as a trial attorney for President John F. Kenne- dy's Justice Department. Kincaid returned to Fayetteville in 1963 to begin his solo practice. That same year, he began a 32-year career teaching business law at the Univer- sity of Arkansas. In 1968, he became a member in the firm Kincaid, Horne & Trumbo. He served as the director of planned giving in the Office of De- velopment at the University of Arkansas from 1993 to 2002. He then went on to become the senior vice president of the trust department at The Bank of Fayetteville, retiring – for a third time – in 2017. He also held elected office at city and state lev- els, serving four years as Fayetteville's city attorney (1965-69) and two terms on the Arkansas House of Representatives (1970-74). He was a driving force behind legislation that brought kindergarten to all public schools in Arkansas. He also served on the Fayetteville School Board for many years. In addition to receiving the Wes Gordon Golden Deeds Award, Kincaid has been recognized by numerous groups for his community involve- ment, including the Lugean L. Chilcote Award for Outstanding Service to the Arkansas Community Foundation; the Distinguished Citizens Award from the Washington County Historical Society; and the Golden Acorn Award from the Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association, for leading the effort to create the ecologically diverse Brooks-Hummel Nature Reserve. He was also inducted into the Fay- etteville Public Schools Hall of Honor in 2013. Kincaid's wife, Brenda, is a retired Fayetteville schoolteacher. He has a son, daughter, stepdaughter and four grandchildren. He said he felt very honored to be recognized with the Wes Gordon Golden Deeds Award, though he said he wasn't sure he deserved it. Kincaid was good friends with Wes Gordon, who he said helped him with his campaign for state representative. "He was an advisor to me, even though he was a traditional Republican, and I was a Democrat," he laughed. But Gordon's friendship went beyond that, Kincaid said. He recalled, "Wes and Helen were very creative, just a step ahead of everyone, and intellectually a delight. They created Christmas ornaments in his workshop, they gave us a set that have been on our tree ever since. We've now passed some on to our son and daughter to put on their own trees." Kincaid grew up in a family where community service was the norm. His parents were involved in giving back to their community. "Particularly if you didn't have great wealth, which we didn't, they believed you needed to give of yourself," he said. "I tried to follow their example." Kincaid believes the Chamber plays an import- ant role in Fayetteville, keeping the community on the cutting edge of economic development in a constructive way, while preserving the great qualities of the city of being sensitive to diversity and recognizing the "environmental treasure" that is this region. He was quick to credit the extraordinary leader- ship of Steve Clark, for keeping Fayetteville on the cutting edge. "He reaches out in so many directions and stays on top of things – at the university, in the commu- nity – he has something new going all the time," Kincaid pointed out. "He has great sensitivity to historical preservation and increasing opportuni- ties in so many areas, we're really fortunate to have him in that role." Kincaid recalled how far Fayetteville has come and the importance of remembering people like Hal Douglas and Clark McClinton, and the roles they played in integrating Fayetteville's public schools and the theater. The growth of Fayetteville since those days is something that Kincaid is happy about. "I think it's been a controlled and constructive growth, compatible with conserving the great environment we live in," he said. "There are a lot of things to like about Fayetteville. A center of educa- tion that's full of natural beauty, a good economy, the hills, the trees, the culture, the diversity, the priority placed on the environment … it's just a beautiful place to live." 13 Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce

• Cover