USDA Announces Cotton Board Appointments
January 14, 2014 Seventeen members and 17 alternates have been named to The Cotton Board by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
The Cotton Board is appointed by the Secretary to oversee the Cotton Research & Promotion Program. All appointees will serve three-year terms that began January 1, 2014 and will end December 31, 2016.
Cotton Board Chairman Gary Ross, an importer from Yardley, PA, was pleased with Secretary Vilsack’s appointments. “The re-appointed Members and Alternates bring experience and exceptional knowledge of the cotton industry to The Cotton Board,” he said. “I also look forward to working with the new appointees, who will surely bring a fresh perspective to our Board’s activities.”
Fifteen current members were re-appointed to the board – Walter L. Corcoran of Eufaula, AL; David J. DeFelix of Campbellton, FL; James L. Webb of Leary, GA; Suzanne R. Drouhard from Danville, KS; Dwight W. Menefee from Lake Arthur, NM; Arthur W. James, Jr. of Sumter, SC; Willie L. German, Jr. of Somerville, TN; Madison Farmer of Lamesa, TX; Lance V. Everett of Stony Creek, VA; Gary E. Ross from Yardley, PA; Michael D. Wallace from Bentonville, AR; Flora J. Wong from Mercer Island, WA; Peter M. McGrath from Dallas, TX; Arlene M. Eastwood from Neptune, NJ; and A. Mark Neuman from Champaign, IL.
Newly-appointed board members are Kim M. Mayberry-Holifield of Kennett, MO and Jess M. Nichols of Altus, OK.
Eleven current alternate members were also re-appointed – Timothy J. Mullek of Robertsdale, AL; Alan J. Edwards of Jay, FL; Thomas L. Lahey of Moscow, KS; Jackie L. Joy of Antesia, NM; Clint D. Abernathy of Altus, OK; Francis G. Darby from Chester, SC; Debra R. Barrett from Edroy, TX; Marvin L. Everett from Capron, VA; Helga L. Ying from Piedmont, CA; Tara E. Hoffmann from New York, NY; and, Kristine T. Arabia from Hudson, OH.
Newly appointed alternates are Benjamin R. Grimsley of Weston, GA; John H. Hunter of Essex, MO; Catherine S. Via of Bells, TN; Sarah M. Gilligan of San Francisco, CA; Joe D. Long of Hollywood, FL; and James C. Self III, of Greenwood, SC.
Secretary Vilsack also selected importer Stefanie M. Rotta of Elkins Park, PA, as an alternate member whose term expires at the end of this year.
The Cotton Research and Promotion Program – authorized by the Cotton Research and Promotion Act of 1966 – is designed to advance the position of cotton in the marketplace. It is funded by assessments on all domestically-produced cotton and imports of foreign-produced cotton and cotton-containing products.
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service oversees operations of the Board.
Source – The Cotton Board
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