Friends in High Places…Part 2….The Dentist and the Preacher

Editor’s note…this is part two of a two-part story on the friendship between Hope native and Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Dr. Lester Sitzes of Hope…

Dr. Sitzes, who has practiced dentistry in Hope for many years, has been actively involved with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the Boy Scouts. “I’m not a politician” he said, but he works diligently behind the scenes of his dental practice changing lives of youth and helping preserve and “protect the nature,” in the “Natural State” by his service in both organizations.” I’ve done a lot in scouting and still am. I really care about those kids and have gotten to know so many neat families over the decades.  God willing, I’ll make 50 Years as an adult leader plus the 10 as a youth.  Doesn’t mean I’ll quit then, but it will be a personal benchmark,” he said.

  These two friends have led very different lives, but have remained a pair that for the greater good of society continue in service to others. This dentist and this preacher have shared many hunting expeditions, too. The hunting duo photos hang on the walls as a nice distraction for the patients during dental exams and procedures.

  “ I treasure the friendship I have with Mike. I absolutely do and I am thankful for it. Being friends with him has made me a better person.”

Sitzes it has been “one surprise after another”  that proved his friend “moving on up”.  Huckabee actually  began his career at the age of only 13 years announcing local sports. “He had gotten hurt and couldn’t play anymore,” Sitzes recalled. He said local officials asked Huckabee to announce the local games. “Turned out he was pretty good at it,” Sitzes said.

   Sitzes, who had gone along to help Huckabee with equipment when he was announcing,  also mentioned that he would like to see the old KXAR Radio station in Hope restored for  a historical museum highlighting the start of the man’s political and evangelical role in history. “Did you know Ronald Reagan also got his start in radio?” Sitzes began to see the signs  from early on that  something was special about his good friend. “ It wasn’t  until we were coming back from Boys State, that we started to realize  he was truly special. He won the governorship at Boys State with very little prep work or money, Sitzes recalled.

“All he did was hand out cards and go around and talk to people. He just blew everyone out of the water.” Sitzes repeated that he and his group of friends  knew from very early on that his childhood friend had a higher purpose.

   Janet Huckabee, Mike’s wife, Sitzes said, was also a very dear friend to him. He told of one of the hurdles the couple had  to overcome early in the Huckabee’s marriage. Sitzes said she  had some health issues and had been told she would never be able to have children. He said she not only recovered and later on had three children, but one of them, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is currently serving as the Governor of Arkansas.

 According to Sitzes, Huckabee experienced another down low after he had run for senate and lost and  at the same time  was hospitalized with pneumonia.  Sitzes was his campaign manager at that time.

Sitzes recalled, “ Mike was very sick with pneumonia the day before the election and didn’t feel well and was very, very down. He was probably at the lowest point he had ever been. He wasn’t used to losing elections. When he lost to Dale Bumpers, it was the same night Bill Clinton was elected president.” Huckabee confided in Sitzes.

   “ I really, really prayed about it, and I felt like this is what God wanted me to do.” Sitzes had gone to sit with his friend in the hospital at that time and  encouraged him by saying,  “Mike, You didn’t do this for nothing. Something good is going to come out of this. I don’t know what it is. But something good is going to come out of this.

 About 30 days later he called me and said,  ‘ “You were right…something good has come out of that election. Jim Guy Tucker is moving up to governor. Since Bill Clinton has been elected, they are going to have a special election, and I am going to run for Lt. Governor.”

 Sitzes went on to explain that what had happened from that first election, was that even though Huckabee had lost, he gained name recognition, plus he had new people in all 75 counties. So he already had a structure in place.  ‘ “ He said, this is it! There it is, this is why I ran for senate.”   Huckabee is more known for his wins of course, but his losses always lit the pathway to something bigger.  Noone had believed Sitzes, when many years ago, he told people that Mike would eventually also serve as  governor of Arkansas.

“ A preacher, become governor? Na.. it will never happen,” Sitzes recalled a conversation as far back as the 1980’s . “Then Huckabee won as governor,” Sitzes said. “It was a wild, surreal time.

  Think about this: after he ran for president and lost, what happened? He got to be friends with Donald Trump.  The moral of the story is…you don’t have to win every political race to win in the bigger picture. And that is what has happened in Mike’s case. He’s lost some races, but he actually came out better for it.”

  Sitzes said the thread that really kept the group of friends that still get together was the positive influences and experiences they shared  growing up in Hope, Arkansas.

  “Growing up in Hope was a gift from God. It was an idyllic world of great neighbors, school teachers, churches, and lifelong friends. The key influences in my life were those who taught me, employed me, and encouraged me.  I can’t imagine having had a better childhood.  The memories run deep—from being able to wander all over town on our bicycles, going to the “free show” on Wednesdays in the summer at the Saenger Theater, swimming at the Hope City Pool for 25 cents, or foolishly chasing the mosquito fogger on our bikes as it fogged our neighborhood.  I’m forever grateful to have grown up in Hope!”

 Hope Dentist, Arkansas Game and Fish Commision and Boy Scout Leader, Dr. Lester Sitzes and the U.S Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, also from Hope, enjoy many outdoor activities like duck hunting and fishing expos. These two have been good friends since grade school. Here they are together with 1973  classmates Randy Bobo and Perry Hensley after a fishing trip near Huckabee’s Florida home.