Larry Arth enriched the community

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Larry Arth was one of those people who seemed to be everywhere.

The work he did on behalf of community organizations would have been the equivalent of a full-time job or two for most people.

And he did it while growing a local life insurance company, Bankers Life Nebraska, into Ameritas and UNIFI Mutual Holding Co., a financial services company with $37 billion in assets under management and 2,500 associates nationwide.

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Larry Arth

Larry Arth

When local fundraising drives were launched, one of the names that invariably showed up on the must-contact list was Larry Arth.

The name of the enterprise he led changed names over time, but the community could count on it frequently showing up on the list of benefactors to various worthy causes.

How did he accomplish so much?

One reason was his style of decision-making.

JoAnn Martin, president and CEO of Ameritas, described Arth in an interview with the Journal Star’s Richard Piersol earlier this year.

“Larry has a philosophy of handling things only once,” she said. “He gets the information, makes a decision and moves on. So many of us have trouble with time management because we revisit things. … He will not look back.”

The style is often imitated, but seldom achieved, at least with the consistency and excellence that Arth demonstrated.

Another reason that Arth was such a pillar in the community is simply because he made the commitment. “You have to make the time because it’s important. The time comes out of personal time. It’s our responsibility to make our community a better place to live and work,” Arth wrote in an interview conducted by e-mail last month.

Consider an incomplete list of Arth’s community service: Nebraska Wesleyan, University of Nebraska Foundation, Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, Nebraska Council on Economic Education, Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board, St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center, Madonna Centers, Catholic Social Services, Catholic Diocese of Lincoln Foundation and American Council of Life Insurers.

Of the many awards that Arth earned in his lifetime, the one that seems most fitting is the Roger T. Larson Community Builder Award. The man after whom that award is named, found just the right phrases when Arth died on Wednesday.

“Larry Arth was a rock in the community,” Larson said. “He was a great family man, a great church man, a great businessman. …”

Leaders with Arth’s blend of vision, business and organizational acumen and generosity of spirit are rare. His time and energy enriched the community on many levels. His death this week at age 65 leaves a void that will not soon be filled.