6 minute read
Dance with Me
“In the whole process of three to six months of building a home, you’re talking to those suppliers every week making sure everything is still on schedule coming in. Most of the time we’re able to get it. Sometimes not. Sometimes you start all over.” In spite of everything, the market is still booming. The company has its own subdivision, Lakeside Crossing, and just broke ground on a second, The Meadows. Both developments are located in Chaffee Crossing.
“Home building is up nationwide and we’re feeling that here as well,” Tim says. “We’ve been fortunate enough to be in our own subdivision and be the only builder. I’ve been buying out and doing that kind of stuff so it kind of protects our market and our interest. A lot of builders are looking for places to build so we’ve been fortunate enough to have our own.”
Demand has pushed the company from its normal production of about twenty-five homes per year closer to forty in 2021. Tim oversees these projects with his son Colten by his side and he revels in carrying on the family legacy through the same father-son bond he and Larry shared.
“Colten is in it for the long haul,” Tim says. “I’ve seen a young man who didn’t know a whole lot about the building industry take a hold of it to where he can run things. I watched him develop skills on how to talk to people and how to treat people, be good to people, yet still be a boss. That’s a fine line there. Every day I am just more amazed at the skills that he’s learning and how far he’s come.”
“I go back to the days when I started and I’m sure my dad watched me do the same things, and if he was half as proud of me as I am of Colten, that’s pretty cool. It’s fun to get to work with your son and have a good relationship. It’s a true blessing that I don’t take for granted.”
Building a balanced life isn’t without its challenges. Tim says a mentor once admonished him to stay in balance and pay as much attention to his family as he did to his profession. Over the years, Tim adopted the phrase "keep balance" as a life motto. The advice stuck and his wife Deena, Colten, his daughter Jessica Meadors and his youngest son, Spencer, get to enjoy his off-duty side much more as a result. Even so, he still confesses one affectation that straddles work and family time. “I’ll drive through a subdivision and just sit there,” he says with a grin. “My wife probably dislikes it more than she lets on, but she knows I enjoy it. We go to dinner on a Friday or Saturday night, and I may end up driving through the subdivision just looking at the houses in the evening and thinking, ‘I built that, I built that, I built that, I built that.’ I know those homeowners, and many have become friends.”
“I mean, there’s a lot of good people out there and I would have never met them if they wouldn’t have bought a house from me and for that, I'm very thankful.”
Tim and son, Colten Mays
Dance with Me WORDS Liesel Schmidt IMAGES courtesy Marian Conrad
Rita Shelby, Renae Hughart, Sandy Phillips, Joyce Wolf, Linda Briseno (not pictured), Marilyn Boone
First with Jazzercise and then the meteoric rise of Zumba, dance cardio has long been a trend that gets people not only moving, but dancing, enjoying the rhythm of music as well as their body’s ability to move. But the fast-paced atmosphere isn’t for everyone—nor is the large group setting. Sometimes, a closer camaraderie is sought, something that will foster closer relationships and engender a sisterhood. For women like Joyce Wolf and Renae Hughart, the idea that dance could be both a means of fun and exercise, as well as a way to engage with their communities and give back, ultimately gave rise to the creation of their very own group, called Bordertown Belles. “Our first meeting to discuss forming a dance group was
Oheld in January of 2018,” says Joyce, the co-leader of the Belles along with Renae. Several members knew Marian Conrad, Executive Director of local nonprofit, Project Compassion; and, after hearing about their group, she approached them about dancing for long-term care facility residents as part of their recreational programs. “We decided we wanted to try it, so we started meeting and practicing dances. We had our first performance at Chapel Ridge Health and Rehab in March of 2018, and the rest is history,” Renae says.
With seven members, Bordertown Belles comprises women from several towns in the River Valley, including Fort Smith, Van Buren, Branch, Greenwood, and Lavaca. What makes the group so unique is the concept behind it: Performing for the residents of twenty-six long-term care facilities served by Project Compassion. “The Bordertown Belles love visiting with residents, seeing their smiles, and hearing their stories as they share memories about school dances or waltzing at their wedding. The performances spark joyful memories of dances like sock-hops and barn dances they attended long ago,” says Marian, who has been booking the Belles as entertainment at area assisted living, retirement, rehab and nursing homes since the group started.
What their audiences receive from their performances is their greatest driving force—not to mention their greatest reward. “Music is magic,” says Marian. “Music and movement together engage both sides of the brain; and familiar tunes, lyrics, and rhythms spur people to clap, tap their toes, dance, and sing along. For them, it’s all very emotional and heartwarming.”
Renae concurs. “There's always lots of energy, laughter, and smiles when we perform, both from the Bordertown Belles and the audience. Every performance is a blast, and we usually go away chattering about what a great time we had and the impact we made on the people for whom we performed. We're constantly working on new dances and coming up with new costumes for future performances. Being with the Belles is fun, and dancing with them is something I hope I can keep doing for many years.”
Naturally, the women had some dance skills in their back pockets when they joined the Belles. “Several of us had previously been on a line dance team and wanted to get involved in dancing again,” says Renae.
