Jerry Hiett has been a strong supporter of the Rogers Historical Museum, even before it was officially established by Rogers City Ordinance in 1974. 

Hiett was among a group of civic minded Rogers’ citizens who met in the living room of the late Miss Vera Key in spring of 1974 to organize and officially establish the US Revolution Bicentennial Steering Committee for the City of Rogers. Once formed, the first action of the Committee was on a request from Miss Key to establish a historic museum for the city. The motion was approved unanimously and Committee member Harold Jones (Rogers park director at the time) was asked to fill out and submit an application for federal and state matching funds on a 90/5/5 percent basis.

Receiving grant approval from the federal and state agencies, the Committee asked Opal Beck, the Committee's non-voting liaison from the City Council, to seek that body’s approval. Once approval was granted the Committee, chaired by John Sampier with Hiett as activities chairman, centered the majority of activities around promoting the Museum.

The Friends of the Museum was kicked off as a support group at a social event in the apartment of Cass and Beth Hough at the Daisy plant. Hiett and his complete family became Charter Members of the Friends that day and their memberships continue today. His wife Virginia is a past president of the Friends’

Within a few weeks of the last Bicentennial activity, the Bicentennial Fourth of July celebration on July 4, 1976, Hiett left the position of executive editor of the Rogers Daily News, joined his family, antique based auction business and filed a petition to run for Rogers City Council. After winning that race, he served as an alderman for the next 20 years. Throughout those years he worked to see that the Museum received city support to continue its growth.

In 2003, Mayor Steve Womack appointed Hiett to the Rogers Historical Museum Commission, where he served for the next 17 years.

Hiett left the museum commission on Jan 1, 2021, and joined the Rogers Historical Museum Foundation. As Hiett says, the completion of the move into the Haley building and establishing the old city hall, now the Eversole Building, for storage of un-displayed exhibits, has put the museum on solid ground, space wise, for the future.

However, he pointed out, experience has taught us that another major expansion is no more than 20 to 30 years away. “To meet that expansion head-on, we must be building a healthy Foundation with Endowments that will not only fund that expansion, but will continue for all future expansions,” he explained.