Simmons to be inducted into Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame
Mark Simmons, chairman of Simmons Foods Inc., is one of five individuals who will be inducted into the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame, the organization announced on Jan. 3.
The Hall of Fame program, sponsored by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and Arkansas Farm Bureau, recognizes individuals who have brought distinction to the state’s largest business sector, according to a press release from Farm Bureau. The five honorees will be recognized at the 29th annual induction luncheon on March 3 at Little Rock’s Embassy Suites Hotel.
“What a great cross-section of Arkansas agriculture to be selected for the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame,” said Butch Calhoun of Des Arc, chairman of the Arkansas Agricultural Hall of Fame committee and former Arkansas Secretary of Agriculture. “The collective impact of these five is felt in every part of the state.
Simmons first joined his family business in 1968 after graduating from the University of Arkansas, according to the release. He was named president in 1974, following the death of his father, and has served as chairman of the board for Simmons Foods since 1987.
Under his direction, Simmons Foods has grown into one of the nation’s largest privately held broiler-processing companies and the largest private-label wet pet food manufacturer in North America, the release states.
When Simmons was named president in 1974, the company owned a single plant with an estimated $20 million in sales and 350 employees. Currently,
Simmons Foods has more than 20 facilities across North America with nearly 6,000 employees and approximately $1.4 billion in sales, the release states.
Simmons was a founding member of the Northwest Arkansas Council, serves on the board of trustees at John Brown University, and is a board member of the Walton Family Charitable Support Trust. He was named Man of the Year in 1990 by the Arkansas Poultry Federation, the 2009 Regional Entrepreneur of the Year in the agribusiness category by Ernst & Young and was inducted into the 2013 Arkansas Business Hall of Fame. Locally, he received the Golden Paddle Award from the Illinois River Watershed Partnership and was named a Siloam Springs Chamber of Commerce Pioneer Citizen in 2015.
The Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame has a mission to build public awareness of agriculture and to formally recognize and honor individuals whose efforts have led to the prosperity of local communities and the state, the press release states.
“I have said this before, and it bears repeating; agriculture is one of the great success stories of our state. What a privilege to see these great advocates of agriculture be recognized,” Calhoun said.
Other Arkansans inducted into the agriculture hall of fame were:
• Forester Allen Bedell of Hot Springs
• Former state senator Neely Cassady of Nashville
• Rice farmer Gary Sebree of Stuttgart
• The late Bobby Wells, a renowned plant breeder who developed many varieties of rice that have positively impacted the state’s farmers.