Tom Gary
Personal experience helps new Delta Council president understand the region’s challenges

By Mark Bird
DBJ Contributing Writer

Tom Gary, recently named the 72nd president of Delta Council, brings to the job a wealth of personal experience. His family has been active in cotton farming for five generations. Gary himself is a farmer and businessman—he has known the rewards and challenges of Delta agriculture, and seen the dramatic ups and downs of the region’s economy. Through his previous positions within Delta Council and his work with numerous other civic organizations, he has long been a part of efforts to improve the lives of Deltans.

A lifelong Greenwood resident, Gary attended Mississippi State University, graduating in 1970 with a B.S. degree in agricultural economics. He then returned home to the family farm, Wildwood Farms, which he now runs with his son Lawson. Gary and his wife Moxie also have a daughter, Sherry, who works for Gaylord Entertainment in Nashville.

Additionally, Gary is active in the running of Wildwood Gin, Inc., a cotton ginning operation. “It’s another old family business,” he comments. “My grandfather built the gin.”

Personally active in Delta Council from the time he returned home from college, Gary says his own experience with the organization goes back even farther. “The first time I turned to Delta Council for help, I was 15 years old,” he recalls. “My dad suggested that we visit Delta Council to find the latest information on agricultural research for my school term paper.

“Actually, my family has been active in Delta Council since its inception,” he continues. “My father always included the Council in his budget, and required us to do the same. And in 1941, my grandfather was president of the Council. Like many families and businesses, we have always depended on Delta Council to lead the way on critical issues that are common to all of us who live and work in this unique region.”

Over the years, Gary has chaired several Delta Council committees, including the Flood Control Committee; he has also served as Leflore County membership chairman and most recently as a Council vice-president. Certainly his civic involvement has extended far beyond the Council—Gary is a member of the Cotton Board, vice president of Delta Wildlife, and a director of the Farmers Supply Cooperative. He is also a past chairman of the Leflore County Farm Service Agency (FSA) Committee and a past commissioner of the Leflore County Soil and Water Board.

Reflecting on his new position, Gary comments, “I’m very honored to have been asked to serve as president. My family has believed in the Delta Council concept from the very beginning, and to be asked to lead it is deeply gratifying. And when I look at the list of past presidents, it’s even more of an honor to be able to follow in the footsteps of those great leaders.”

Delta Council was formed in 1935 to provide a means by which the agricultural, business, and professional leaders of the region could work together to address common problems and promote the area’s economic development. Its original focus was on three areas, including promotion of agriculture (encompassing research and legislation), and promotion and development of transportation facilities and services—particularly the development of a modern highway system throughout the Delta.

A third focus was flood control and drainage, as Gary points out. “Early on, flood control was one of the main missions of Delta Council, especially since its founding came only several years after the disastrous 1927 flood. My great-grandfather had, in fact, been forced to leave the Delta because of the effects of frequent flooding on his farm near Rosedale.

“So this was obviously a problem that was close to my grandfather’s heart, and during his term as president he worked hard to help alleviate flooding problems.”

While the original concept of Delta Council has not changed, Gary says, the organization’s role and involvement in Delta issues has evolved over the years. “For one thing, we now have a development department, which is active is job recruitment and job retention, as well as workforce training efforts and cooperative economic development efforts among Delta communities.

“Over the years, the Council has also become more involved in things such as the development of educational policy and coordination with various governmental agencies that perform agricultural research, as well as highway and transportation issues, which are so important to the future of the Delta--for example, the completion of the I-69 corridor. Delta Council is very much involved in this effort.”

This year has a particular significance, however, to farmers, with the approaching end of a seven-year farm bill. States Gary, “Agriculture is absolutely vital to the Delta economy. Here are a few facts: the eighteen Delta counties generate $1.5 billion in agricultural sales, which represents about one third of the entire agricultural income from the state’s 82 counties. Delta agriculture generates about a half-billion dollars in state and local taxes, and almost $1 billion in federal taxes, annually. Agriculture is the Delta largest employer, representing approximately 41,000 jobs, and less than 10 percent of these are on-farm jobs. By comparison, there are approximately 26,000 manufacturing jobs in the Delta.

“I know first-hand that farmers have been rocked by unbelievable escalation in costs accompanied by talk of reducing our ability to fairly compete in world markets.

“Over the years, Delta Council has proven to be the most respected regional voice in national farm policy. Even with the many other very crucial issues we’ll be addressing, I see this as the single most important issue we’ll face in the weeks and months ahead. Needless to say, Delta Council will be working tirelessly to ensure that our interests are well represented as the farm legislation process moves forward.

“Let me add, though, that both the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, and the jobs they create, are very important to Delta Council, just as they are to the Delta itself. The Council wants to help expand jobs in all sectors of the Delta economy.”

While Delta Council efforts through the years have been well recognized and appreciated, this is an organization that has generally worked behind the scenes during the course of its 70-plus years. Tom Gary, like his predecessors before him, voices the philosophy that the important thing is getting the job done.

“Much of the success of Delta Council can be attributed to the unwritten creed that it is more important to give credit to others when good things happen in the Delta than it is to receive it,” he observes. “Delta Council is pleased to give full credit to those we work with, such as county boards of supervisors, state agencies, the Mississippi Development Authority, the Governor’s office, Congress, and others.

“That said, I will also state that Delta Council is an organization that listens to the needs of its constituents and strives to have a definite impact through an outcome-oriented approach to issues. And I know of no other organization that gives as much value—with such a limited staff—to those it serves.” DBJ

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