In last Sunday's column, I wrote about a 1996 boat trip that Gov. Mike Huckabee took on the Arkansas River from Fort Smith to the mouth of the river in far southeast Arkansas. The multiday excursion was meant to draw attention to a proposed constitutional amendment to boost tourism and quality-of-life-amenities. It passed narrowly that November and is now Amendment 75 to the Arkansas Constitution.

The one-eighth of a cent sales tax is among the most important amendments Arkansas voters have ever approved. Proceeds from the tax have given us the finest system of state parks in America, abundant hunting and fishing opportunities, and a booming tourism industry. Writing about the boat trip made me think about the many Arkansans I've worked with on quality-of-life issues through the decades. We've had some giants.

In this sad era when so many of our elected offices are occupied by creepy characters from the political fringe, I yearn to spend time with and write about people my late father would have described as "salt-of-the-earth Arkansans." In the tourism sector, I'm talking about people like Wayne Woods, Shelby Woods, Mike Mills, Richard Davies, Joe David Rice, Steve Arrison and Eric Jackson.

Wayne Woods, who played a key role in planning that 1996 boat trip, died last month at age 77. Wayne and his brother Shelby drew national attention to what this state has to offer. I was always amazed at their ability to brand what in essence were fishing camps as resorts. Now, with millions of dollars having been invested, we have actual resorts.

"We can't take credit for everything--not some big things like the Clinton Library in Little Rock and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville," Shelby told Arkansas Business. "But we were able to get a dedicated fund for marketing and later state incentives for tourism businesses to come here. We have a product that visitors love, and it's very affordable."

The brothers complemented each other perfectly. Wayne was Mr. Outside,........

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