From Onalaska to the Spa City
Entertainer. Builder. Neighbor.
For more than four decades, Tom Wilkins has been bringing Hot Springs together. He's done it on stage, at parade microphones, at memorial dedications and at blood drives, and he's done it for the causes that make a city a community.
Wisconsin roots · Arkansas heart
Tom grew up in Onalaska, Wisconsin, a river town just up the Mississippi from La Crosse. At Onalaska High School he excelled in athletics and music, and he graduated in 1968. In 1972 he earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and Speech from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. The two halves of that degree, working with people and talking with them, turned out to be the outline of his whole career.
After college Tom went on the road as a touring professional racquetball player based in Chicago, and he worked for the Chicago Motion Picture Union. In 1977 he took over managing the family's large greenhouse, nursery and florist business. It had several 100-by-50-foot greenhouses and a large staff, and it grew and sold everything from azaleas to zinnias, plus a lot of Christmas poinsettias.
Then came Hot Springs. In 1979 Tom arrived to manage a brand-new health club with eight racquetball courts, a store, 88 RV sites and 40 mobile home sites. In 1986 he leased a building downtown and opened a Branson-style family music show. The Spa City has been home ever since. He found his calling here, then his audience, and then a lifetime of ways to give back.
Milestones
Graduates from Onalaska High School, where he excelled in athletics and music.
Graduates with a B.S. in Physical Education and Speech.
Plays as a touring professional racquetball player based in Chicago.
Works for the Chicago Motion Picture Union.
Manages the family's large greenhouse, nursery and florist business.
Manages a new health club with eight racquetball courts, a store, 88 RV sites and 40 mobile home sites.
Leases a building in downtown Hot Springs and opens a Branson-style family music show.
Tom is the Creator, Producer, Director and Owner of what grows into one of downtown's signature attractions.
After downtown is reconstructed, Tom becomes the association's second president. The revitalization of historic downtown begins on his watch.
On May 19, Tom organizes the rescue of a sold-out house of hundreds from his theatre. The Chamber of Commerce honors him for it.
Co-founds the Walk of Fame with Ken Wheatley on Central Avenue.
Co-founds the memorial with partner Dick Antoine and chairs it. Together they raise several hundred thousand dollars.
Raises $70,000 in one evening to fully fund the Adam Brown statue.
After years of standing dark, the legendary 1960s nightclub reopens on February 14 under Tom's leadership, weeks before COVID hits.
Tom joins the honorees on the Arkansas Walk of Fame he helped create.
The Stage
Long before most people had heard of a "historic district revival," Tom was building one show at a time on Central Avenue.
Tom launched the Bath House Show in 1987. It was a musical revue of classics spanning six decades, from the '30s and '40s through the '90s, staged in his theatre in the heart of downtown.
Over the years it was rebranded, the format was updated and a new cast came in, but it always stayed a hometown show for visitors and locals alike.
Tom has shared the stage with Tony Orlando, Yakov Smirnoff, Tommy Smothers, Jerry Van Dyke and Governor Mike Huckabee, among many others. He used that star power to raise money for local projects.
Tom has also written and staged full-scale musicals with large casts and complex staging. They're patriotic and faith-filled productions built with and for the community.
In the 1960s the Vapors was a little bit of Las Vegas in Central Arkansas. Tony Bennett, Liberace, Phyllis Diller, Edgar Bergen, the Smothers Brothers and the Ames Brothers all played its stage.
It survived a 1963 bombing, carried on as a nightclub and disco, and changed hands several times. For a while it was even a church. Then it sat closed for years. Tom led its restoration and reopened it on February 14, 2020. Weeks later COVID shut down the world, but the Vapors was alive again.
On May 19, 1990, flash floodwaters tore through downtown Hot Springs during a sold-out show. Tom kept the house calm, took charge and organized the safe rescue of hundreds of guests from his theatre. The Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce later honored him for it. People who were there still talk about it.
It's the clearest picture of who Tom is. When things go sideways, he's the one steadying the room and getting everyone home.
Tom is a longtime leader in Toastmasters International and has given hundreds of speeches. He has also launched scores of people into careers in music, acting and public speaking. He loves giving someone their first real shot at a stage.
All things Hot Springs
Look around downtown on the Fourth of July or in December, or at the plaza on Central Avenue or the Veterans Memorial, and you'll find something Tom helped start.
Tom co-founded the Walk of Fame with Ken Wheatley. It's a statewide attraction at Hill Wheatley Plaza on Central Avenue honoring more than 120 Arkansans of national renown, including Johnny Cash, President Bill Clinton, Maya Angelou and General Douglas MacArthur. In 2025 Tom was inducted himself.
Tom and his partner Dick Antoine raised several hundred thousand dollars, including through the grassroots "It Just Makes Cents" campaign. Tom also oversaw the design and construction of a lasting tribute and a place of reflection for veterans and their families.
One evening with Tony Orlando and Susie McEntire raised $70,000 and fully funded the famous Adam Brown statue, honoring the Hot Springs native and Navy SEAL.
Tom and partner Dick Antoine created Spa Blast, Arkansas' largest outdoor family fireworks celebration. It lit up Oaklawn Park every Fourth of July for more than 20 years.
Tom created the A&P Commission's Christmas Lighting Program, which the Advertising & Promotion Commission later honored him for jump-starting. Every December glow downtown traces back to it.
Tom has emceed more than 25 Christmas Parades as Co-Grand Marshal and 22 Veterans Day Parades, all broadcast live on TV. He also spent four years as the official emcee of the Heart Association Banquet.
Service
For six years with United Blood Services, Tom coordinated more than 1,100 blood drives across four counties. When Hurricane Katrina struck, he organized a benefit concert at Magic Springs that raised more than $10,000 for the United Way's relief efforts.
After downtown was reconstructed in 1986–87, Tom became the second president of the Downtown Merchants Association. The revitalization of historic downtown began during his tenure. He has also led the Tourist Attraction Committee and chaired the Malvern Avenue Association, always working to keep Hot Springs' neighborhoods and small businesses strong.
Faith & Family
Tom and his wife, Susan, have been members of the First Church of the Nazarene for 17 years. Tom is a leader in the church and Susan serves on its board.
Tom is also a licensed minister. He has officiated weddings for Hot Springs couples and designed floral displays and Christmas lighting for many more celebrations.
Honors
Today
Tom owns Suite P Productions, a full-service video and media studio and ad agency. It produces legacy videos, podcasts and websites, and its work has passed a quarter of a million views worldwide. Tom's latest venture is the Majestic Property Concept. After four decades he still has the next big idea ready to go.