City supports park to recognize businessman, philanthropist

SPRINGDALE — The City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to contribute up to $250,000 to help build the Gerald Harp Memorial Park at the city’s Randal Tyson Sports Complex.

The Rotary Club of Springdale developed the idea and has organized fundraising efforts.

The Rotary Club intends to build a tree house park on the west side of the Tyson complex, said Greg Collier, a recent past president of the local club.

“Gerald Harp did lots for the Rotary Club and lots for Springdale,” said Mike Overton, a council member.

The Gerald Harp Park will join two others built by the Rotary Club on the west end of the park — the Miracle League ballpark and the Adventure Park, both dedicated to children with special needs. Harp was a driving force in both parks, Collier said.

Collier said the tree houses will be built around and among the trees on the west side of the park. He noted that Rotary Club members planted those trees about 30 years ago.

In addition to tree houses, the park will feature rope swings, bridges and more among the trees.

“Gerald would have thought it was a great idea,” Collier said.

Rotary Club leaders are looking to raise about $1 million and hope to start building in the spring with the park opening in July, Collier said.

Gerald Harp was the son of Harvard and Floy Harp, founders of Harps Food Stores. He worked 45 years in the family business, where he served as president and chief executive officer from 1995 to 2001.

Gerald Harp was born March 21, 1940, in Springdale and died Oct. 16, 2020, in Springdale.

“He cared about the future of his associates and employees,” said Huey Couch at the time of Harps’ death. Couch retired from the stores after 55 years.

When it came time for Gerald Harp to retire in 2001, he sold the company to the employees rather than some other business, Couch continued. Harp gave 10% of his share of the sale to long-term employees of the company, Couch added.

Harp joined the local Rotary Club in 1968, served as president in 1977-1978 and as the district governor of Rotary International from 20042005. Membership under Harp’s tenure as governor put the state second in the country and fifth in the world.

Harp’s goal as district governor was for others to follow his example, said Pam Everett, a longtime associate.

“There’s one reason Gerald Harp joined the Rotary Club,” she continued. “And that was to fight polio through the club’s Polio Plus campaign.”

Harp also supported First Baptist Church of Springdale, the Springdale Chamber of Commerce, Broyles Matthews Scholarship and Springdale Rotary Family Park. He helped finance Harp Elementary School in honor of his parents and their children, according to his obituary.

Most people don’t know he bought fish each year to stock the pond in Springdale’s Murphy Park so children would have a chance at fishing, Everett said. And he literally dug water wells in South America to bring clean water to the people there, she added.

The tree houses will be built by Northwest Arkansan Josh Hart of Natural State Treehouses, who built the unique playground structure at the J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center.

Milestone Construction Co. will serve as the contractor. Sam Hollis, president and co-owner of Milestone, also is a past president of the Springdale Rotary Club.

The club also has several other local companies who will support the park with inkind donations, Collier said.