Robert Dennis Altes, known as Denny Altes (born May 12, 1948) is a former

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

for Arkansas House District 76. A Republican, he is also the former Minority Leader of the

Arkansas Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...

. From 1999 to 2003, he served previously in the state House from District 14.

Early life and education

Altes was the first graduate of Southside High School in

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, third-most populous city in Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sebastian County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...

before attending

Arkansas Tech University Arkansas Tech University (ATU) is a public university in Russellville, Arkansas, United States. The university offers programs at both baccalaureate and graduate levels in a range of fields. The Arkansas Tech University–Ozark Campus, a two-yea ...

in Russellville. In college, he was drafted into the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and was stationed in

Panmunjom Panmunjom (also spelled Panmunjeom) was a village just north of the ''de facto'' border between North Korea and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement that ended the Korean War was signed. It was located in what is now Paju, Gy ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, where he served in the

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

. Upon his return he completed a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

and later attended graduate school at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

Fayetteville Fayetteville may refer to: *Fayetteville, Alabama *Fayetteville, Arkansas ** The Fayetteville Formation *Fayetteville, Georgia *Fayetteville, Illinois *Fayetteville, Indiana *Fayetteville, Washington County, Indiana *Fayetteville, Missouri *Fayette ...

. He is a member of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

and the

Disabled American Veterans The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is an organization created in 1920 by World War I veterans for disabled military veterans of the United States Armed Forces that helps them and their families through various means. It was issued a federal ch ...

Career

In 1974, Altes founded Altes Company and Environmental Systems, of which he was the president. From 1982 until 2007, he was president and CEO of Resourect Recycling Inc., which merged with Fibresource, Inc., in 1991. Before the start of his legislative career, Altes was a justice of the peace for the

Sebastian County Sebastian County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 127,799, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arkansas. The county has two county seats, Greenwood and Fort Smith. Sebastia ...

Quorum Court, equivalent to

county commission A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States. A county usually has three to fiv ...

in other states. In January 1999, he won a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to serve the remainder of the term of former State Representative W. K. "Mac" McGehee's term in the Arkansas House. In 2000, he sought re-election unopposed for House District 14. In 2002, Altes ran for the vacated District 13 Senate seat and was re-elected in 2006. In the 86th General Assembly, he served as Senate Minority Leader and Assistant President Pro Tempore. Altes served on a number of committees in the

Arkansas General Assembly The General Assembly of Arkansas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 1 ...

. Altes was the chairman of the Joint Performance Review committee and also served on the Arkansas Legislative Council (ALC) – Senate, Joint Budget Committee, Joint Revenue & Tax – Senate Rules committee, Senate Transportation, and Technology committee and the Insurance and Commerce committee during his time in the Senate. The Arkansas Chapter of

American Family Association The American Family Association (AFA) is a conservative and Christian fundamentalist 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States.Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Church in Fort Smith, where he serves as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altes, Denny 1948 births Living people American Christian clergy Baptists from Texas American military police officers County justices of the peace in Arkansas Republican Party Arkansas state senators Republican Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly Politicians from Fort Smith, Arkansas Politicians from Houston Arkansas Tech University alumni University of Arkansas alumni University of Mississippi alumni Businesspeople from Arkansas United States Army soldiers Baptists from Arkansas