Post by Mr. Pathetic on Feb 11, 2008 15:26:38 GMT -5
A fellow I interviewed about his many years of service to the mental health community.
PERKINS CELEBRATES 40 YEARS OF SERVICE
By Ezra Mann/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
In a span of nearly four decades, one truth has always remained close to Clarence W. Perkins, administrator of Southeast Arkansas Behavioral Healthcare System.
“Money is not a condition for treatment because if someone needs it, they’re going to get it,” Perkins said in a recent interview.
Perkins said that even though times have been tough in the mental health field, in the 40 years he has been the leader at Southeast, he has never regretted his decision to be a part of the system.
He has seen mental health services in Arkansas grow from just an idea with a few dedicated servants to a statewide system for children and adults.
Born in Paris in Logan County, Perkins grew up in Conway where he graduated from high school before going to the University of Central Arkansas, which was known as Arkansas State Teachers College at the time. His degree in industrial education was interrupted temporarily when he left to serve in the Navy at the end of the Korean War. He later finished his degree in 1958.
“I spent a little bit of time doing a bit of everything before here, like working as a paperboy at the Log Cabin Democrat to teaching and coaching in Clinton,” Perkins said.
In 1965, Perkins moved to Pine Bluff and served as a member of the Pine Bluff School Board, which he said was especially significant because it was the time when schools were being integrated.
The move to integrate was not a popular idea at the time, but it was the right thing to do, he said.
“That’s one thing that I’m real proud of, that we were able to make a pretty good transition of integrating our schools in Pine Bluff at the time,” Perkins said.
In 1968, Perkins began working for Southeast where he has been instrumental in making positive changes in the mental health field locally, statewide as well as on the national level.
Perkins’ biography said he initiated and helped develop most of the mental health legislation in Arkansas. His work on the national level involved helping to write the National Mental Health System Act of 1980.
A charter member of the Jefferson County Chapter of the Association of Children with Learning Disabilities, Perkins was appointed by then-Gov. Mike Huckabee as a member of the Governor’s Taskforce on Mental Health in Arkansas in 2002. He presently serves on the executive board of the Mental Health Council of Arkansas.
Gov. Mike Beebe recently appointed Perkins to the Children’s Behavioral Health Care Commission.
One of his goals has been to assist children, a commitment also shared by members of the board of directors for the mental health center, he said.
“I tell people I’ve been here for 40 years and they think I’m crazy,” Perkins said with a laugh. It is rare today for someone to remain with a company for so long, especially at the same job, he observed.
If and when he decides to retire, Perkins said he hopes he is allowed to stay on as a consultant or work part-time.
Perkins’ wife of 53 years, Frances, is a teacher at Southeast Junior High School and they have two grown children and four grandchildren.
He will mark 40 years at the agency on Feb. 16. Kathy Harris, assistant administrator at Southeast, said the agency will host a reception for Perkins at the Pine Bluff Country Club at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 19.
A biography of Clarence Perkins, provided by Southeast Arkansas Behavioral Healthcare System, contributed to this article.
www.pbcommercial.com/articles/2008/02/11/news/news1.txt (Article was first posted here)
PERKINS CELEBRATES 40 YEARS OF SERVICE
By Ezra Mann/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
In a span of nearly four decades, one truth has always remained close to Clarence W. Perkins, administrator of Southeast Arkansas Behavioral Healthcare System.
“Money is not a condition for treatment because if someone needs it, they’re going to get it,” Perkins said in a recent interview.
Perkins said that even though times have been tough in the mental health field, in the 40 years he has been the leader at Southeast, he has never regretted his decision to be a part of the system.
He has seen mental health services in Arkansas grow from just an idea with a few dedicated servants to a statewide system for children and adults.
Born in Paris in Logan County, Perkins grew up in Conway where he graduated from high school before going to the University of Central Arkansas, which was known as Arkansas State Teachers College at the time. His degree in industrial education was interrupted temporarily when he left to serve in the Navy at the end of the Korean War. He later finished his degree in 1958.
“I spent a little bit of time doing a bit of everything before here, like working as a paperboy at the Log Cabin Democrat to teaching and coaching in Clinton,” Perkins said.
In 1965, Perkins moved to Pine Bluff and served as a member of the Pine Bluff School Board, which he said was especially significant because it was the time when schools were being integrated.
The move to integrate was not a popular idea at the time, but it was the right thing to do, he said.
“That’s one thing that I’m real proud of, that we were able to make a pretty good transition of integrating our schools in Pine Bluff at the time,” Perkins said.
In 1968, Perkins began working for Southeast where he has been instrumental in making positive changes in the mental health field locally, statewide as well as on the national level.
Perkins’ biography said he initiated and helped develop most of the mental health legislation in Arkansas. His work on the national level involved helping to write the National Mental Health System Act of 1980.
A charter member of the Jefferson County Chapter of the Association of Children with Learning Disabilities, Perkins was appointed by then-Gov. Mike Huckabee as a member of the Governor’s Taskforce on Mental Health in Arkansas in 2002. He presently serves on the executive board of the Mental Health Council of Arkansas.
Gov. Mike Beebe recently appointed Perkins to the Children’s Behavioral Health Care Commission.
One of his goals has been to assist children, a commitment also shared by members of the board of directors for the mental health center, he said.
“I tell people I’ve been here for 40 years and they think I’m crazy,” Perkins said with a laugh. It is rare today for someone to remain with a company for so long, especially at the same job, he observed.
If and when he decides to retire, Perkins said he hopes he is allowed to stay on as a consultant or work part-time.
Perkins’ wife of 53 years, Frances, is a teacher at Southeast Junior High School and they have two grown children and four grandchildren.
He will mark 40 years at the agency on Feb. 16. Kathy Harris, assistant administrator at Southeast, said the agency will host a reception for Perkins at the Pine Bluff Country Club at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 19.
A biography of Clarence Perkins, provided by Southeast Arkansas Behavioral Healthcare System, contributed to this article.
www.pbcommercial.com/articles/2008/02/11/news/news1.txt (Article was first posted here)
