TEXARKANA MONTHLY
ALLEN BROWN TALKS ABOUT DEAN BARRY AND THE LIVE UNITED BOWL Established seven years ago the Live United Bowl is a successful event for the United Way of Greater Texarkana and the community. Economic impact comes in many surprising forms. How
Dean’s admiration for Brown has fostered other major partnerships for Texarkana. From 2015 to 2019, Dean and his wife, LaCrecia, signed on to be the title sponsor of the Live United Texarkana Bowl. When asked why, Dean said he was drawn to supporting the bowl because of the impact it has and the economic draw it produces for the town he loves. Grandmothers are fond of saying, “A watched pot never boils.” Dean advises us to have patience with our development. “It’s going to take time. It’s going to take a lot of time. It’s going to take a lot of money to do what we’ve got to do, but we’re going to do it. The best thing we’ve got right now, in all of this area, is we’ve got Miller and Bowie counties and both cities cooperating together in the effort to do this.” That cooperation includes the buy-in of our County Judges, Cathy Harrison and Bobby Howell, as well as the Commissioners and Quorum Courts and all the surrounding cities. “I don’t think in all of my years involved in Texarkana, this has ever happened before. Right now, we’ve got the best people focusing on what we need to keep kids in Texarkana.” Generally, most people do not realize how competitive the business recruitment world can be. Pick up the Dallas Morning News and read any story about how the Metroplex offers millions of dollars in tax abatement to entice businesses to Dallas. States are competing on an unprecedented level to land the “Big Fish.” Remember the headlines about cities fawning over themselves to attract Amazon HQ2? The city of Austin, Texas, recently offered over $60 million in abatements and other incentives to recruit Tesla. We all know the Ark-La-Tex is not the same market as Dallas or Austin; however, our market can be just as competitive. It seems like our corner of the state is often overlooked by our State Capitols. Nevertheless, REDI, with the combined support of our county and city officials, is well received in both Little Rock and Austin. Dean recalls the warm reception he had when meeting Texas Governor Abbott while he was in town. “Five of us met with him at TAC Air when he landed. We met with him for an hour, and the governor said, ‘Y’all get the property. We will get you some money; we will get you started.’” Dean has also met with Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick in Texarkana during a luncheon. “I take comfort knowing the Governor’s office and the economic team are well aware of our mission.” Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and his economic development team have been encouraging as well. “You can’t believe what they’ve offered us in help as far as all this is concerned.” All players seem to see the benefit of what REDI is doing and are coming to the table with their resources. “People just don’t understand that it takes money to make money. I read something not long ago by the guy that saved IBM. He said, ‘The most successful person in the world is the most persistent person in the world.’ The one word that you’ve got to use is persistence. It’s no different than selling an insurance policy. I always said I’ve got to call on ten people to sell one, and the guy that ran IBM said the most successful person in the world is the one that has the most failures.”
many ways does hosting a NCAA Division II sanctioned football bowl game contribute to the Texarkana economy? What surprised you most about our community’s response to hosting the game? The eagerness of individuals to help. It takes an army to put on a large event like this and it was refreshing to have people calling to see how they could be involved. Probably the most special part has been the community involvement with the United Way agencies. Having the football players visit the agencies and see what our community is all about and then seeing the folks from those agencies in the stands waving their pom poms is heartwarming to say the least. The local economy benefits in a number of ways. The most obvious is the weekend of the game with out-of-town fans coming in for one or two nights. But we have made an impression on the universities we have hosted over the years, and have had overnight stays as they have traveled through Texarkana to their other games. It has put Texarkana on their radar as not just a pass-through town, but a community with friendly, welcoming people.
You developed a true friendship with Dean Barry in the early days of securing sponsorship. When did you become fully aware of Dean’s unselfish devotion to our community? What can we all learn by following Dean’s example?
It didn’t take me long to realize that Dean Barry was a unique individual and he genuinely wants Texarkana to be the best it can be, whether it is Arkansas or Texas. Dean is a Texarkana supporter, as is his wife, LaCrecia. He first came to me wanting to be a financial supporter but in short time, it was obvious that he wanted to help make the Live United Bowl a success and something that would draw people to Texarkana as well as give our community something to be proud of. I have always thought of myself as someone who wants to give back, but Dean has taught me so much. When he gives himself to a project, he is all in! Whatever needs to be done, he is going to do with a glad heart. His faith is a big part of who he is and he has a servant’s heart. In our first conversation, he said God has blessed him and he wants to give back. He doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks the walk. He is a special man married to a special woman and Texarkana is fortunate to have them fighting for us to be the best we can be as a community.
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BUSINESS & POLITICS
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