El Campo's people exemplify 'Spirit of Excellence'
JERRY AULDS

Pat yourself on the back El Campo. Just a few months ago when several civic groups - Rotary, St. Philip School, the El Campo Volunteer Fire Department - launched fund-raisers at about the same time, logic dictated that it might be slim pickings for everybody.

Forget logic, credit heart. One more time El Campo met the need, overflowing community coffers.

One more time, those who might bicker and bark on opposite sides of a bond issue, laughed, chortled and combined forces buying raffle tickets and sending auction bids into the stratosphere for homemade noodles and hand-stitched pillowcases.

I sounded out El Campo Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture President Becca Socha and we jokingly agreed that if the government initiated a national raffle and barbecue, we could eliminate the deficit and balance the budget in no time.

Becca added she knew some chamber members who could supply the barbecue.

By the way, the local groups are more than excellent fund-raisers, they also excel in performing their missions. Witness the El Campo Volunteer Fire Department's outstanding response (with help from Louise and Danevang) when fire erupted at the Hillje Gin earlier this week.

I strongly suspect that my former boss, always friend and mentor Leader-News Publisher Fred Barbee was drawn here by the cohesive spirit of excellence he found in El Campo.

Mr. Barbee and his family plunged into and augmented that spirit on the pages of the Leader-News and over the air with KULP.

I mourn the loss of that good man. A kind man who hid his passions behind a calm demeanor.

But it was only a front, his friends and employees knew his heart, so when he came home from the hospital, they lined the streets and cheered.

He wrote with wonderful clarity, passion and a sense of fun.

What I most admired about Fred Barbee was his kindness coupled with steadfast integrity.

A few personal memories: Mr. Barbee strolling past as I labored on a past deadline column, "Look at the smoke coming off that keyboard," he would say with a grin, disappearing into his office with a handful of copy to edit.

On any board on which he served, Mr. Barbee kept detailed notes and invariably would volunteer to work on that most thankless, but most important committee, the bylaws committee.

In that capacity, he mirrored the spirit he admired in this community, doing the hard slogging behind the scenes work so the organization could fulfill its mission.

Fred Barbee and I belonged to the bad dancers club. But when his wife Peggy and he co-chaired a museum dance, Fred and Peggy led the first dance and Fred boogied the rest of the night.

In Fred Barbee, kindness, character and excellence reflected him and his community.