[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 15, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1058]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO CECIL E. WILLIAMS, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARION BERRY

                              of ARKANSAS

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 15, 2007

  Mr. BERRY. Madam Speaker, I rise here today to pay tribute to a dear 
friend, Cecil E. Williams, Jr., a lifelong advocate and friend to 
Arkansas farmers. Williams, who was a West Memphis resident and 
longtime executive vice president of the Agriculture Council of 
Arkansas, passed away on April 12 at the age of 74. His death was a 
great loss to his community, his family, his State and this Nation.
  Williams began his agricultural education at a young age on his 
family's cotton farm in Tyronza, AR. After serving in the U.S. Air 
Force as a weather observer in Alaska, he moved to Baton Rouge, LA, and 
enrolled at Louisiana State University where he obtained his bachelor's 
degree in agricultural economics. During his final year in college, 
Williams met his wife Barbara. They eventually married and had three 
sons.
  Williams took a job with the National Cotton Council and began 
traveling to cotton farms around the South, soliciting new members. In 
return for their membership, Williams kept them informed of new farm 
technology and techniques that would help farmers run a more efficient 
and profitable business.
  In the mid-1960s, Williams became the executive vice president of the 
Agricultural Council of Arkansas in West Memphis and served the council 
honorably for 37 years. Although Williams worked for the council during 
the day, in his free time he maintained a small family farm because he 
loved working the land. By maintaining the farm, he gained a firsthand 
perspective of the challenges Arkansas farmers faced on a day-to-day 
basis.
  Williams' life-long commitment to farming made it easy for him to 
advocate on the behalf of farmers in Washington. Williams worked as a 
liaison, advocating for farm policies that would benefit Arkansas' 
agricultural community to Members of Congress. He would then return to 
Arkansas and use his natural gift of communication to explain the 
complexities of farm bills to producers, which helped them understand 
how the legislation would impact their business.
  A devout public servant, Williams was a man of honor and compassion. 
On behalf of the Congress, I extend sympathies to his family and 
gratitude for all he did to make our community a better place. His 
service and friendship will be missed by all.