Humanitarian Bob Dunlap impacts local community

BATESVILLE, Miss. — Dunlap & Kyle Co. Inc. has made its home in Batesville for more than 93 years. Over that time, the company has built a reputation for providing jobs and supporting the community, mostly thanks to its leader, Bob Dunlap.

"The business is really important to Batesville and has been for a long, long time," Del Phillips, superintendent of the local South Panola School District, said.

"He's been such a big asset to this community and Mississippi. It's hard to put into words what it all means because he's done so much in so many different ways. Our community is forever changed because of it. …

"The things he's done to help the school system and the children in this community is unmeasurable," said Phillips, who has worked in the school district for 28 years, including as high school principal.

Dunlap not only has supported school athletic programs, but he also has helped students in need.

"Years and years ago, we had kids that would come wearing the same sweatshirt three days in a row, and I knew the only reason they were wearing it was because it was all they had," Phillips said.

"I remember one day I came out here (to visit Dunlap), and we were talking and visiting, and I told Bob about that. He never hesitated, and said, 'What do we do to fix that?'"

Phillips noted the high school didn't have the funds to help in such situations, so Dunlap wrote a check to put in the school account so when a student needed something — a coat, shoes, a dental appointment — the school could pay for it on their behalf, Phillips said, noting that Dunlap told him, "And if you run out of money, you come back."

Phillips said he was touched by Dunlap's donation.

"It was a selfless thing he did, that he didn't have to do. It helped a bunch of folks that he will never, ever meet.

"He helped a lot of kids, and no one knew, … " Phillips said. "When he does things for people, he does it because he wants to do it for those people, and he doesn't even know them.

"He's just doing it because really, truly, he is trying to be a humanitarian and helping other people he'll never know. He's done that with college scholarships; he's done that with just an untold number of things over and over again."

Ricky Woods, a former high school football coach, said Dunlap supported the local high school teams over the years and even paid once for the football team's trip to New Orleans to play a game.

The school couldn't pay for championship rings when the team won championships over 11 seasons, so Dunlap covered the cost for about 100 members of the team each year, Woods said.

"He doesn't know most of the players, but he just wanted them to have a ring," he said, noting that he also bought championship rings for other school teams over the years, including Northwest Mississippi Community College.

"He got nothing out of this, but you can't use school money, so you have to have private funds and raise it and ask people for donations. He just wanted to make sure that they all had rings," Woods said.

Woods also recalled how the high school planned to build a field house when he was coach, "but I really wanted an indoor practice facility, which is the only one now standing in the state of Mississippi. We didn't have enough money to buy an indoor facility and a field house.

"We now have an indoor facility, and it's got 'Gateway Tire' hanging on the side. And the reason we got an indoor practice facility is because Mr. Bob took care of it. And he refused to let us put his name on the side of the building, but he let us put the tire store name. He did the turf on the field, and the stadium is named after him," Woods said.

"He is a great man," Woods said, noting Dunlap doesn't want recognition for his generosity. He said the only reason his name is on the facilities is because the school kept insisting.

"He has just been so generous to so many different people. I guess Mr. Bob may have been to two games the whole time I was coaching there, and I think he came to look at the indoor facility one time. It's not about him; it's all about letting the boys have it and the community.

"This community or this town or the school system would not be the same without Mr. Bob Dunlap," he said.

"There's just a need to help children and he said he'd help them."

Hal Ferrell, Batesville mayor and a former alderman, said he admires Dunlap for his support of the community, and providing advice to him and other city leaders.

"He gives you time. If you go in to speak to him, it's unbelievable the interest he has in the community and the time he will give you to help you if you're looking for a solution, he's there," Ferrell said, adding, "If you go in to ask for help, he's going to find you help."

Ferrell said Dunlap has donated land, encouraged development and assisted politicians with campaigns and projects.

"He's involved in everything and wants to be involved from the back seat. He's not directing it; he's just offering suggestions," he said.

Ferrell said Dunlap knows what it takes to encourage industrial development in the city. If business or industry officials are considering setting up shop in Batesville, "we like to bring them here and talk to him. He'll encourage them and offer them assistance in any way. He's pro-development.

"He is in tune with the community in every aspect of what's going on and supports the community. It's hard to find a place here in our community that he's not touched someway."

While Dunlap continues to support numerous schools and non-profits, his latest community project is in a more spiritual vein.

He has underwritten the construction of giant white concrete crosses, about 120 feet tall, that he hopes to erect around the state.

So far there are a couple of them erected near highways in northern Mississippi, including one at the Batesville exit off I-55.

Dunlap, a Presbyterian, said his objective is that when someone is driving and sees a cross, they just might pause and reconsider their actions and the direction of their life.