{"id":11256,"date":"2025-06-05T14:47:56","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T19:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/?p=11256"},"modified":"2025-06-05T16:49:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T21:49:26","slug":"sau-grad-named-minden-man-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/2025\/sau-grad-named-minden-man-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"SAU grad named Minden Man of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>For years, Tracy Campbell has collected antique signs and memorabilia. And through that pursuit, he has come to see himself as preserving the history of his community in Minden, La.<\/p>\n

Now, he is part of that history.<\/p>\n

Campbell, a 1999 graduate of Southern Arkansas University, was named Minden Man of the Year earlier this spring. \u201cIt was very humbling. When you think of some of the guys who have made a difference in this town, I don\u2019t feel that I\u2019m worthy of that kind of recognition,\u201d said Campbell. \u201cIt was really nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

He currently works as a partner and financial advisor with Merriweather Wealth and Planning, a financial planning company in Minden. He is also a business owner in Minden. However, his initial career course was in media.<\/p>\n

Campbell received his bachelor\u2019s degree in mass communications-print journalism in May of 1999. Two weeks later, he married his high school sweetheart, Jennifer. Shortly after that, he and his wife moved to Minden, where he became editor of the local newspaper, the Minden Press-Herald<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The couple moved to Hope, Ark., for a brief period, where he led the marketing department at a community college before returning to Minden in 2003.\u00a0 It was around that time that Campbell began to pursue his passion for old memorabilia, particularly vintage advertising signs and logos.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was at my uncle\u2019s house in Sarepta, and I noticed a sign lying on his carport under his truck,\u201d Campbell related. The old sign was for Kuhn\u2019s Climatized Paints, and it piqued his interest. \u201cI asked him what he was going to do with it.\u201d It turns out his uncle was only using the sign to catch oil as it leaked from his truck. Campbell, however, had an idea for a better use for it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cHe told me I could have it if I could find something to replace it with. So I brought him another piece of scrap metal.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Campbell\u2019s interest in older items began when he was just 12 years old.\u00a0 It all started when I was a kid,\u201d Campbell explained. \u201cI would ride my bike to garage sales, buy stuff, and put it in my closet. Then, I would sell it to make a profit. \u201dCampbell\u2019s love for the older advertising signs and merchandise began slowly while living in Minden. \u201cI started with like five pieces, then I had 10. Now, I probably have around 300 different items. \u201cI just find it enjoyable. And it\u2019s therapeutic,\u201d added Campbell.<\/p>\n

Campbell has kept many of the items he has found and restored. Other items he has sold. His hobby has also led to other opportunities. Recently, he appeared on the show \u201cHometown Kickstart,\u201d which visits various towns each week in search of antiques and memorabilia. The program visited Minden for the series finale.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a picker for that episode. I met the designers at a collector friend\u2019s place in Cotton Valley, La., and helped them locate some raw materials for their projects,\u201d explained Campbell. \u201cIt is interesting to see first-hand how those renovation reality shows are filmed.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Campbell loves preserving local history, he said SAU helped prepare him for\u00a0wherever his career took him. \u201cSAU has 100 percent prepared me. My time at SAU, especially in the journalism department, taught me how to communicate. One of the foundational things you have in life is to know how to communicate both in speaking and writing.\u201d<\/p>\n

While at SAU, Campbell also worked part-time in the Communications Center, which was the marketing office for the University. \u201cMy time in the Communications Center was beneficial. I got to hone my graphic design skills and my writing skills. Those skills carried me through every job I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell\u2019s wife, Jennifer, is the branch manager of the Minden branch of the Webster Parrish Library. She has learned over the years not to be surprised at anything Campbell might bring home.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family thinks it\u2019s kind of funny,\u201d said Campbell of his wife, his son Colin, who is now a junior at Louisiana Tech majoring in computer science, and his daughter Lily, who will be a sophomore in high school in the fall. \u201cThey say, \u2018You never know what Tracy is going to bring home.\u2019 They know to expect the unexpected,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

Recently, he brought home perhaps the most unique item yet \u2013 a 17-foot sign for the former Minden Motel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey know I like saving and preserving the local history. I\u2019m kind of a caretaker for this stuff. I get to keep it and enjoy it for a little while, and then someone else can have it to enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For years, Tracy Campbell has collected antique signs and memorabilia. And through that pursuit, he has come to see himself as preserving the history of his community in Minden, La. Now, he is part of that history. Campbell, a 1999 graduate of Southern Arkansas University, was named Minden Man of the Year earlier this spring…. Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":11264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[97,276,7753],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11256","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-alumni","8":"category-community-corner","9":"category-homepage","10":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11256"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11268,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11256\/revisions\/11268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}