Family Creates Scholarship in Memory of Bill Porter ’54

University of the Ozarks trustee David Porter (pictured, left) and the Porter family have established the Bill Porter '54 Scholarship Endowment in memory of his late father (pictured, right, with his wife, Anna Lou).

The scholarship was established earlier this month and will be given to students with financial need majoring in business-with first preference given to students from Johnson County, Arkansas.

A former mayor of Clarksville as well as state legislator, Billy Dean Porter was a 1950 graduate of Clarksville High School and 1954 graduate of what was then The College of the Ozarks, where he majored in business administration. He died in 2022 at the age of 89.

David Porter joined the U of O Board of Trustees in 2024. He is the CEO and principal with the Polk Stanley Wilcox architectural firm in Little Rock.

"University of the Ozarks has been a cornerstone of our family's story since my father graduated from The College of the Ozarks in 1954," David Porter said. "The professional and personal success he achieved through his education provided the foundation for my siblings and me to thrive in our own lives and careers."

The Porters are descendants of a family that has resided in and around Harmony, Ark., in Johnson County since 1838. Bill was married to his wife, Anna Lou (Pierson), for 60 years and they have four children, Charlotte, David, Jimmy and Robert.

Bill Porter began his business career working part-time, while in college, at Galloway Lumber Company and joined the company full time upon graduation, as office manager and bookkeeper. After the owner of Galloway Lumber died in 1964, the surviving members of the ownership group, Jack Cline, E. K. Johnson and Leslie Bryant, added Bill as a fourth stockholder in a new corporation, Clarksville Wood Products Inc. He was named general manager of the company and over the years bought out the other three stockholders, becoming the sole owner of the business, where he continued to work until retirement, when he sold the company in 1999.

Early in his adult life Bill became an active member of the City of Clarksville with his appointment to the Clarksville Light and Water Committee in 1968, becoming chairman in 1970. In 1971, he successfully ran for mayor of Clarksville and served two 4-year terms. During his 8 years in office, he oversaw many substantial improvement projects for the city, including urban renewal, street and drainage improvements, establishment of the Johnson County Regional Hospital, a new City Hall, modernization of garbage collection and disposal system, a new water treatment plant and a new city park, Cline Park. After ending his two terms he served on the board of directors of Johnson County Regional Hospital, eventually becoming chairman of the board.

In 1981, Bill successfully ran for an open seat in the Arkansas State House of Representatives, a position he held for 12 years serving under two governors, Frank White and Bill Clinton. During his years in the state house, he served on several committees, with his proudest achievement being the passage of an appropriations bill that provided funding for a new headquarters in Clarksville for the Arkansas State Police Troop J. He decided not to run for re-election in 1992 and formally retired from politics.

During his business and political career, he served in leadership roles on numerous local, state and national committees and commissions, including the Arkansas Forestry Commission, Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, President of the Cooperage National Trade Association, Clarksville Board of Education, Board of Directors of the Johnson County Regional Hospital and Board of Directors of First Security Bank. Bill was also a long time Rotarian, where he was a Paul Harris Fellow.

Maintaining and improving the original Porter family homestead in Harmony, including raising cattle, horses and a large garden, was his lifetime passion and gathering there with family was one of the things he enjoyed and treasured the most.

Topics: Giving