On This Rock, I Will Build

Family Focused

WORDS Dwain Hebda images courtesy Dr. Kendall Wagner

Dr. Kendall Wagner didn’t get where he is by taking shortcuts. Just to become a doctor, the native of Waldron faced double the amount of college training of the typical college graduate, but even by medical school standards, his education workload was substantial as he trained in both pediatrics and internal medicine among three hospitals in Little Rock. By the close of that, he had earned the rank of chief resident for internal medicine/pediatrics.

All that was impressive enough, but to Kendall, signaled only the beginning stanza of his dream. The next piece was to return to western Arkansas and serve the area where he grew up.

“Being able to come back to this area eight years ago was such a great thing for me,” he says. “That was the reason why I went to medical school, was to be able to come back to the River Valley and provide quality medical care.” Kendall joined the staff of Mercy Hospital where he would work for the next five years and in time, transition out to the Chaffee Crossing area as a Mercy doctor where the next exciting step in his medical story was about to unfold.

“I started working on making a transition about two years ago,” he says. “It’s always been a dream of mine to have my own clinic and have a place that was rooted in the community, that was growing with the community, and to be there as that anchor for health for families.”

“Obviously, there are things you work up to do that; you need to build your name in the community, you financially have to get where you need to be and then finding the right spot in the right area. Thankfully, all of those things came together with divine intervention to culminate in the right opportunity.”

That opportunity came calling when Kendall had the chance to buy an existing clinic in the very neighborhood where he’d been practicing, Chaffee Crossing, which continues to attract new residents, many of them families.

“The clinic itself was built here a few years ago in 2016, and there’s been a couple different providers here, but never anyone full time or for an extended amount of time,” he says. “So, this will be really the first time the clinic will be in full-time operation by an independent provider.”

At 2,500 square feet and featuring three exam rooms, a laboratory and an x-ray, the clinic building provides the ideal home for Chaffee Crossing Clinic, which opened this month. Employing six, the new practice offers a unique combination of medical services.

“As far as the practice goes, we plan on providing care to families who have made Chaffee Crossing their home,” Kendall says. “I am an internal medicine-pediatrics physician, which is not necessarily a common specialty. I would call myself a primary care physician who can provide pediatric care, we can provide that adult care, do chronic disease management, do wellness.”

This unique combination of board-certified medical skills allows him to handle a variety of conditions from routine to specialized. “When someone’s looking for their personal physician, that’s me,” he says. “But also, by being a med-peds doctor, I can deal with complicated cases in pediatrics. I get referred a lot of patients from Arkansas Children’s; when they have medical problems, they will refer those patients. Or, my adult patients who have diabetes or hypertension or those kind of things, I’m specialized to be able to deal with those diseases and conditions very effectively.”

“This opportunity of buying and opening an independent practice is basically the culmination of a goal of mine to put the pieces together to become that one-stop where families can get the kind of personalized, highquality care we’re hoping to provide.” It’s not particularly complicated to understand why such a venture would resonate with Kendall so deeply. Not only is he a family man himself — father to daughter Averie (age nine) and son Grayson (age six) — but his wife Kathie, whom he married during medical school, is a pediatric occupational therapist by training.

The family is also vested in the community. The Wagners attend Harvest Time Church where their children attend Harvest Time Academy, for which Kendall is president of the school board. He and Kathie have also been active in fundraising activities through Mercy Hospital, including raising money for the recently-opened Ronald McDonald House. They’ve also sponsored fundraising in the past for the Gregory Kistler Treatment Center, which provides developmental therapies for children.

In all things — professional, personal and community service — it’s not hard to see how deep the family’s roots run or where they are anchored.

“I grew up as a preacher’s kid. My dad is an Assembly of God minister,” Kendall says. “I don’t know that I would have a professional life without faith. I think that really is where my strength stems from and where my approach stems from. My drive for quality of care comes from viewing people in the image of God and viewing being a physician as a true calling.”

“In middle school, I decided I would go to medical school and become a doctor and basically just set my sights on that and did not look back. I tell people all the time I don’t know that I could be happy doing anything else than what I am doing, because that’s what I feel God has called me to. My faith is so intertwined with being a physician and the care that I provide, I would call it my North Star and really, a driving force behind all that I do.”

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Wagner as a regular healthcare contributor to Do South® Magazine, beginning this February!

Chaffee Crossing Clinic 11300 Roberts Boulevard, Fort Smith, Arkansas 479.242.5910 | chaffeecrossingclinic.com

On this rock, i will Build

WORDS Dwain Hebda IMAGES courtesy Tim Mays and Jessica Meadors

If ever someone was preordained for a career, it was Tim Mays and home building. The third-generation owner of the family construction business, now known as Tim Mays Homebuilder, Tim’s professional life was foretold at an early age, as captured in a treasured family story.

“My dad always loved to tell the story,” he says. “When I was twelve years old sitting in church one Sunday morning, I drew a truck on a piece of notebook paper like kids do in church, just drawing. On the side of the truck I put, ‘Tim Mays and Dad.’ Dad always loved to tell that one.”

The mention of his late father puts an undertone to Tim’s voice. Larry Mays was more than the family patriarch and head of the business he inherited from his father and company founder J.L. Mays. Larry was Tim’s hero, mentor and best friend and the sting of his passing in September 2020 still hurts.

“Dad and I, we worked together, we hunted together, we fished together, we built street rods together. We just enjoyed each other’s company,” Tim says quietly. “I lost my dad last September, a little over a year now, and there’s a sign on the back of my truck that says, ‘My hero was a homebuilder.’ And he truly was.”

Tim Mays

Together, Larry and Tim built well over 1,000 homes in the River Valley, and Tim gained nearly twenty years of experience from one of the best. “Dad taught me number one, love God; number two, love your wife, and he showed me how to do those. Number three, love what you do and we’re fortunate enough we get to do that. I love what I do. Not to say it’s peaches and cream day in and day out because some days are harder than others, but we just really love it.”

There’s no doubt that Larry beamed with pride and was always well pleased with his son. Tim Mays Homebuilder has continued the family legacy of quality craftsmanship that began with JL in 1958 and is in high demand by all manner of families who entrust the Fort Smith native and graduate of Van Buren High School with their slice of the American Dream.

“Most everything I do is anywhere from about 1,600 to about 2,600 square feet. So, you’re talking $250,000 to $400,000 as our average right now,” he says. “We enjoy doing that because it fits with our program and there’s a big demand for that price range.”

“I take a lot of pride and satisfaction in what I do. I don’t build a perfect house, but I try and get as close as possible. All I’m doing is building the house. The family makes it a home.” Of course, it’s not that simple, especially over the past two years when the pandemic put the squeeze on materials and labor alike. The latter aspect Tim has survived because he’s adhered to his father’s lessons about taking care of subcontractors, a central plank in the company’s commitment to fair and ethical business practices.

JL and Larry Mays

"We have a heritage of Christian principles in our family and that bleeds over into our business life. People say business is business and that’s separate. Well, no it’s not. You don’t put your morals in your pocket when you go to work,” he says.

“Dad taught me when that sub comes off the job and he’s done his work and he needs to be paid, you pay him. That’s why he’s out there doing what he’s doing. Everybody’s trying to do their job.”

“A lot of my subs are some of my closest friends. My electrician, heating/ air, plumbing, framer, all those guys, they’re personal friends. We go to dinner with them. We socialize with them. It’s a team thing. I realize I’m in charge and I’m writing the check, but it’s still a team effort. As a result, we’ve got a lot of subs who have been working for us for years. My framer, he worked for my grandpa and my dad and me; he’s been working with us for well over forty-five years now.”

As for the other challenges related to supply chain and the state of the economy, Tim’s managed things the best he can. The company preorders speculatively to avoid as many delays as possible, ordering multiple appliance packages, windows, or other components for as many as six, eight, even ten houses at once, storing them until needed. Still, it’s a difficult and precarious balancing act.

“It’s very frustrating,” he says. “Prices have gone up thirty-five, forty percent in some cases. Instead of calling and getting it next week, now you call and order it and hope you see it in eight weeks. When I sign a contract with somebody or when I start a house, I’m immediately ordering windows, doors, plumbing fixtures, electrical fixtures, all that kind of stuff.”

Tim and Larry Mays