Volunteer honored for milestone service
Some people spend their retirement years leisurely traveling the globe. Others enjoy the fruits of their labor from their favorite recliner at home. Hot Springs resident Stuart Perry has chosen to spend his golden years “generously giving back to the community he loves.” Over the past eight years, he has contributed 6,500 volunteer hours to Garvan Woodland Gardens, part of the University of Arkansas’ Fay Jones School of Architecture.
“Working at the Gardens is Stuart’s passion,” said Visitor Services Manager Susan Harper, overseer of the more than 300 active volunteers who donated 17,575 hours to the operation of the Gardens in 2011. “He is an invaluable asset.”
Perry and his wife, Diana, have been volunteers at the 210- acre botanical gardens since 2004, when they first discovered the peninsula property while fishing on Lake Hamilton. His primary role as a volunteer has been operating heavy equipment and assisting with various building projects. “Stuart is focused, detail- oriented, and knows how to keep things moving,” said Associate Executive Director Bob Byers, praising Perry’s engineering and business sense.
These invaluable skills were put to the test in 2010, when the retired vice president of Capital Steel – a supplier and distributor of steel bar, steel wire and wire rod – spearheaded the construction of the Perry Wildflower Overlook, a project he and Diana Perry generously funded. “Stuart’s enthusiasm was contagious. He was a critical part of the completion of the project,” said Byers.
The 1,500- square- foot flagstone overlook opened to the public in March 2011, offering visitors sweeping views of Lake Hamilton and a one- acre planting of more than 40 different varieties of wildflowers. The scenic western destination was not only a financial investment for the Perrys, it holds an emotional investment as well – it stands as a memorial to their late daughter, Shannon Perry Hope, and in honor of their son, Stephen Perry.
Perry earned the title of Volunteer of the Decade in 2010, and he and his wife were jointly awarded Volunteer of the Year in 2006. Arkansans might remember Perry from his standout Razorback football career at the University of Arkansas, where he was named All- American his sophomore year.