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State Agriculture Hall of Fame to Induct Four

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   LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame will induct four whose leadership and service have brought distinction to Arkansas agriculture, the state's largest industry.

   The group will be honored at the annual induction banquet, set for 11:30 a.m., March 17 in the Ambassador Ballroom of Little Rock’s Embassy Suites Hotel.

   The newest class includes:

   * Jack D. Carey of Dumas, a cotton farmer and leader of the Boll Weevil Eradication effort in Arkansas;
   * Tommy H. Hillman of Carlisle, a rice, soybean and wheat farmer who has spent 50 years promoting and serving the rice industry;
   * Tommy B. Lewis of Conway, a leader in the cattle industry and owner/operator of the state’s largest livestock market;
   * James C. Pledger of Little Rock, former president and general manager of the Arkansas State Fair and Livestock Show Association.

Photo courtesy of Farm Bureau

Jack D. Carey

   Carey has spent 35 years leading the boll weevil eradication effort in Arkansas.

   Now retired, Carey grew cotton, soybeans, rice and wheat in the Arkansas delta after moving to Desha County in 1971 from his native Louisiana. Carey became a statewide leader for the cotton industry, leading discussion on the potential for a statewide boll weevil eradication program with other growers and pioneered the BWE effort. He chaired the Arkansas Boll Weevil Planning Committee and served on the first Eradication Board.

   In 1994 Carey was named to the National Cotton Council's Boll Weevil Action committee which helped coordinate programs throughout the nation's cotton-growing states. Because of his leadership and influence the boll weevil is essentially no longer a threat to Arkansas' cotton industry.

    Carey helped form the Arkansas Boll Weevil Eradication Committee in 1991 and served as chairman until 1996. A leader in the state's cotton industry, he chaired the Arkansas Farm Bureau cotton division from 1991-2004. Carey served as the state representative to American Farm Bureau's Cotton Advisory Committee for 12 years. Carey graduated with a bachelor of science degree from Louisiana Tech University in 1949 and later earned a masters of education from Mississippi College.

   He joined Louisiana Farm Bureau in 1951, serving as Parish president for a number of years. He remained an active leader of Farm Bureau after moving to Arkansas and was elected to the state board of directors in 1990. He served 14 years on the board, including four as secretary-treasurer. During this time, he was a director of the Arkansas Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company and the Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Company.

   Additionally, Carey served as a member of American Farm Bureau's Food Quality Protection Act working group and chaired Arkansas’ committee. He served on the Southeast Arkansas Research Advisory Committee at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and on the Great River Vo-Tech Advisory panel to create farm management curriculum.

   Tickets to the induction luncheon are $35 each. Tables of 10 are also available. Tickets may be ordered at (501) 228-1470.
   
   The Agriculture Hall of Fame is sponsored by the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce and Arkansas Farm Bureau. The program honors those who have made significant contributions to Arkansas agriculture, as well as community and economic development.

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