Longtime Board Member Wesley Walls Reflects On Decades Of CAC Service

The summer of 2024 marked a significant change for CAC as longtime board member and former board chair Wesley Walls stepped away from school leadership. We are tremendously grateful for his leadership and service that helped guide CAC to become the school it is today. During his many years of service, Wesley worked alongside former CAC President Carter Lambert to help sustain the school through years of trial and jubilation.

We reached out to Wesley to ask him some questions about CAC, his time on the board and what memories stand out to him after a life spent as a Mustang.

Q: How many years have you spent at CAC (as student/parent/board member/board chair)?

Wesley Walls: I started Kindergarten in 1974 at Pleasant Valley and graduated from Mustang Mountain in 1987. During that time, my dad served on the board as Chair, and then in 2004 I joined the board and served 20 years, 10 of that as Chair. My wife (Traci) taught Pre-K at Pleasant Valley for 10 years, and our two sons are CAC alums: Evan (25) graduated in 2018, and Wilson (22) graduated in 2021.

Q: You have maintained a close connection and even leadership of the school for decades. Why was it important for you to maintain that connection and why did you want to help?

WW: I’m old enough that I feel like the school and I grew up together. When I look back on that time, there were many things that were great about CAC, and candidly, some that were not. But like me, the school was in its adolescence, so some of that is understandable (and forgivable). I formed some very strong relationships with faculty and classmates that had such a positive impact on my life, and the school had prepared me quite well for college, both academically and spiritually. When I was asked to join the Board, I was one of the first alumni to fill that role. I was humbled and honored to serve, especially in my role as a CAC parent.

Q: What are a few of your most cherished memories of your time at CAC, in any of your roles?

WW: Some of my most memorable events were low-key mischievous shenanigans best left to history, but I digress…with respect to athletics, we had some very serious rivalries back in the 1980s with both Harding Academy and Pulaski Academy – the latter of which had a football matchup canceled mid-game because it was getting way too chippy. Good times. While admittedly my own academic achievements were decidedly unremarkable, my best CAC memory is having the honor to hand each of my sons their diploma as they walked across the stage as the Co-Valedictorian and Valedictorian of their respective classes.

Q: How did CAC prepare you, as a student, for success in the “real world?”

WW: My career as an architect falls at the intersection of art, science, and math, and three of the best instructors I’ve had, at any level, were teachers at CAC: Kim Bingman was outstanding at helping me understand how to render light and shadow, Mr. Keith Schramm made science fascinating and fun (especially his “magic” tricks), and Anita Davis was exceptional in helping me grasp the foundational concepts of algebra and calculus.

Q: Who are some of the people (teachers/fellow board members/administrators) who stand out to you as particularly memorable, helpful, committed, etc.?

WW: Having graduated in the late 1980s, you can’t talk about CAC without mentioning Mr. Diles, the school’s first Superintendent. He effectively served in that role for more than thirty years, which is astonishing by any measure. He led with conviction, discipline, and a strong moral character for his staff and students. Bob Diles is a deeply spiritual man, and understood the role to be more than educational, it was missional. It was spiritual. …and having grown up in northeastern Arkansas, he had this uniquely Southern enunciation (let’s say) when he pronounced, “Central Arkansas Christian Schools” that, well, I’ll never forget.

But I also can’t create a list of memorable faculty without with Mr. David Ullom, who was the school’s senior high English/Literature teacher in the 1980s. Mr. Ullom loved God, literature, and movies…probably in that order (but I’m not sure), and loved to share this passion with his students. He lived in Searcy and often hosted movie watch parties during the weekend for students on his large screen “projector” television and laser-disc player, both super unique for the time. He was a very special part of CAC, and his death a few years ago was mourned by so many former students who loved him dearly.

Q: Compare the school at its founding with the trajectory it’s on now. Why is it so important for the school to maintain ties to its past? Where would you like to see it 50 years in the future?

WW: It’s impossible for me to know exactly what the founders envisioned, but it’s important to recognize the significant amount of courage and faith they exhibited in founding a new, Christ-centered school. These men and women dug some deep wells, and I believe that the school’s resilience over time and its healthy period of projected growth are a testament to their original vision. I’m prayerful that the next 50 years will exceed all our expectations, much like I suspect these first 50 years have exceeded theirs.

Q: What is the unique place of CAC in Central Arkansas?

WW: From its very beginning, it was clear that CAC was envisioned as a network of campuses to serve the entirety of central Arkansas. Central Arkansas is not just a part of our name, it describes who we are and the community we serve. I don’t believe any other schools in the state have multiple campuses that match the regional impact of CAC.

Q: What are the chief gifts that God has showered on CAC?

WW: From the school’s outset, the board and administration sought to make Christian education accessible to as many people as possible; the school has and continues to lean into this mission, and that takes a lot of work. Providentially, God has showered CAC with a lot of missionally minded donors, parents, volunteers, teachers, and administrators who diligently and faithfully work to provide a quality, Christ-centered education to as many families as possible in central Arkansas.

Q: You have worked for years as a sought-after and highly regarded architect. How did you balance this demanding work with your board responsibilities?

WW: Architecture largely entails problem-solving and vision-casting, which is extraordinarily complementary to the role of a board member. So, unsurprisingly, these responsibilities frequently paralleled one another, and while it often did entail a lot of work, it was something for which I had both a love and passion to pursue.

Q: What value do you see in giving back to your kids’ school?

WW: Being able to help provide vision and direction for my children’s school was admittedly a huge driver in my decision to serve on the board. Saying that out loud sounds self-serving, but I trusted that developing a Christ-centered educational environment, rooted in academic excellence, cultivation of personal faith, and service to others were common goals shared by so many of our parents.

Q: What is the Board’s role in securing the future of CAC and its families?

WW: I recognize that many, and perhaps most people don’t understand the role of the board.  There are assumptions that we’re involved in day-to-day administration, but that’s not the case at all. We have a great team of educators and administrators who run the school. The board’s role is to prayerfully and humbly cast a vision for the school and equip its leadership to take us there.

Q: How did you know it was time to retire from the board?

WW: Twenty years is a long time, maybe too long, but in retrospect, my term effectively served as a bridge between an earlier generation of servants and this new, very active and visionary generation of board members and administrators who are engaged and guiding the school to a bright future. It was time to step away to create more room for the next generation to lead, and I did so with full confidence that the school is in great hands.

Q: What are you and Traci’s goals for this next season of life?

WW: I’m still in full swing in my career, so that constitutes much of my time, but our two sons are beginning to launch their own paths and so it is a different season for us. We all love to spend time together, and to travel, so we hope to make that a priority over the next several years.

Q: Any final admonition/words of encouragement for your alma mater as you step away from board service?

WW: Several years ago, when we were developing the school’s updated Strategic Plan, board member Erin Brogdon framed CAC as a “community of Christ” which so aptly describes how we hope the school serves its students. A faith community is family, and families embody and embrace commitment, love, sacrifice, joy and belonging. I continue to pray every day that this is the type of community our families will experience at CAC.

Q: Any final reflections?

WW: My term on the board largely paralleled the 20-plus year administration of Dr. Carter Lambert. I think it’s fair to say that his term, like my own, was a bridge between the original founders and the next generation of leaders. I have known and called Carter my friend and brother for most of my adult life, and it was an honor for me to serve alongside him during his tenure. I’m grateful not only for the sheer competence of his leadership, but for the godly influence he had on our students and community.