Tidwell Honored For Cultivating Relationships

Tidwell Retires, Receives Cultivator Award

By Debra Davis

For most of his life, Mike Tidwell has quietly encouraged others. After graduating from Auburn University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agriculture education, he spent seven years mentoring agribusiness students at Marbury High School.

The Randolph County native joined the Alabama Farmers Federation in 1989 as Young Farmers Division director and brought that same leadership style to a statewide audience.

Tidwell, 60, retired from the Federation Dec. 1 after nearly 33 years of service. He was Young Farmers director for 11 years before his promotion to director of the Organization Department in 2000. In that department, he worked with 10 area organization directors and assisted leaders of the Young Farmers and Women’s Leadership divisions.

At the Federation’s annual meeting in December, Tidwell received the Cultivator Award from Federation President Jimmy Parnell. The award honors those who foster relationships to benefit farmers, members and rural communities.

“Mike’s devotion to our core values of faith, family, community and integrity made him a tremendous asset throughout his career and his entire life,” Parnell said. “As Young Farmers Division director, he introduced men and women throughout the state to our organization. Many of those young people now serve as committee chairs, board members and presidents at county and state levels.”

Tidwell was integral to many of the Federation’s political and legislative victories and has fostered candid communication between county Federations and the home office, Parnell said. He also laid groundwork for the Federation’s member benefit package, was instrumental in establishing the Agricultural Leaders For Alabama program, and expanded the Federation’s scholarship program and workforce development efforts.

Dedicated to his family and his church, Tidwell plans to spend more time with both, he said. He and wife Beth have two children — a daughter, Paula Bear, and a son, William. Paula and her husband, Jacob, have two children and are expecting a third this spring.

Tidwell said his love for people and agriculture allowed him to have a rewarding career.

“I’m not sure I could have made a living farming, but this job gave me the opportunity to work in agriculture and farming,” Tidwell said. “Mostly, my career has been behind the scenes, which is what I prefer. But I do feel like the work done by the Federation has helped farmers stay on their farms. Farmers rely on us to represent them in the State House and in Congress so they can stay on their farms and work.”

Tidwell doesn’t plan to rest in his retirement. In addition to working with his church, he has his eye on a portable sawmill and wants to cut trees into lumber.

“I plan to be busy as long as I can stay healthy,” Tidwell said. “I appreciate the opportunities this organization provided me over the years, and I look forward to watching it continue to grow and serve farmers across our state.”

Federation President Jimmy Parnell, left, presented Tidwell with the Cultivator Award during the organization’s 100th annual meeting. Former Federation Organization Department Director Mike Tidwell received a standing ovation from members during the 100th annual meeting Dec. 6 in Montgomery.

Mike Tidwell, pictured with his wife, Beth, said his retirement plans include working more in his church and working on his farm near Marbury.

State Commodity Committee Members Elected

By Debra Davis

State commodity committee elections were held in conjunction with the Alabama Farmers Federation’s 100th annual meeting in Montgomery Dec. 5.

Elections previously were held at the Commodity Organization Meeting in February. The change should make the election process simpler while improving educational programing opportunities for each commodity, said the Federation’s Brian Hardin.

“The Commodity Organization Meeting has evolved over the years going from a one-day meeting to three to expand educational programing,” said Hardin, director of the Federation’s Governmental and Agricultural Programs Department. “Changes and clarification to policy a few years ago helped provide a written procedure to streamline the process.”

Having elections at the annual meeting and conducting educational programs at different times and locations will best suit most producers, Hardin said. State Catfish Committee members already made the switch, meeting Dec. 2 in west Alabama, where most of the state’s catfish production exists. Likewise, the Alabama Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association held elections for horticulture leaders at its annual conference in November, and the Alabama TREASURE Forest Association leaders were selected after the Alabama Landowners Conference in October. The Alabama Peanut Producers Association also is an affiliate of the Federation and will hold its elections in February.

“Through its agricultural programs, the Federation’s vision is to transform the lives of our members by proactively leading discussions, providing education and implementing public policy to enhance the lives of the farmers we serve,” Hardin said. “The more farmers the Federation connects and engages, the more effective we will be in achieving our mission. The Federation is actively working to enhance and promote existing educational opportunities for farmers, while working with our state commodity committees to develop new ones where needed. We are excited about the new approach and what it will mean for the Federation membership.”

With feedback from the Federation’s commodity committee members, Hardin said staff will continue to evaluate the best delivery methods for educating and electing commodity leaders.

State commodity committee members who rotated off their respective committees were honored during the awards breakfast Dec. 6 at the annual meeting. They are: n Bee & Honey — Terry Martin,

Tallapoosa County n Beef — Phil Slay, Chambers County, and Jim Yance, Henry County n Catfish — Brad Brady, Perry County, and Thed Spree, Greene County n Cotton — Andy Thornburg, Mobile

County n Forestry — Richard Jones, Covington

County, and Charles Whatley, Lee

County n Greenhouse, Nursery & Sod — Jon

Hegeman, Calhoun County n Hay & Forage — Phyllis Jones,

Cherokee County; Neal Kelly,

Tallapoosa County; Steve Stroud,

Pike County; and Joe Williams, Dale

County n Pork — Johnny Miller, Cherokee

County n Poultry — Chase Bradley, Monroe

County n Sheep & Goat — Sam Abney,

Autauga County, and Eugene Blair,

Chambers County n Soybean — Charles Butler, Madison

County, and Colt Clemmons,

Lauderdale County n Wheat & Feed Grain — Scott Saucer,

Monroe County

Visit AlfaFarmers.org for a list of new state commodity committee members.

During the Federation’s 100th annual meeting Dec. 5 in Montgomery, county delegates elected leaders to represent them on state commodity committees. Bullock County farmer Kelly Mullins was reelected to the Federation’s State Equine Committee.