[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 23163]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     RETIREMENT OF CECIL WILLIAMS--AGRICULTURAL COUNCIL OF ARKANSAS

  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the long 
and great career of Cecil Williams, who spent a life's work fighting on 
behalf of farmers and the farming way of life in my home State of 
Arkansas.
  Cecil is retiring, after leading the Agricultural Council of Arkansas 
for 37 years. He joined the organization in 1965 and set to work 
immediately doing everything he could to make a better world for the 
thousands of farm families that have made their livelihoods out of the 
fertile soil of Arkansas. Since then, he has played a central role in 
many, many achievements: passage of important check-off programs for 
the cotton, rice, soybean, and corn industries; creation of the 
Producers Steering Committee within the National Cotton Council; the 
implementation of better insurance protection for Arkansas farmers, 
just to name a few.
  Over the years, he has seen many things come and go--economic crises, 
overwhelming floods and endless droughts, farm bill after farm bill, 
and, yes, he has seen many politicians come and go, too.
  He has also seen a lot of changes and a lot of problems that won't 
seem to go away: higher farm costs against ever lower commodity prices, 
urban and suburban sprawl that increasingly compete for land resources, 
a slow but continual rise in the average age of farmers.
  Through it all, Cecil Williams has fought, tooth and nail, for 
Arkansas's farmers. He has fought with grit and determination, with 
passion and loyalty. He has fought with heart and with every bead of 
sweat he could give. He is a company man who has endured almost as long 
as the company. And through the years, he has quietly but surely built 
a career that stands as an inspiration for all of us who believe in 
production agriculture. I suppose he is not old enough to be the father 
of Arkansas agriculture, but he certainly has been its guardian. And he 
has served it well.
  I have known Cecil for many years, first as the daughter of a rice 
farmer in the Arkansas Delta, and for the past 10 years as a Senator 
and congresswoman. Through two farm bills and through countless attacks 
on the foundation of America's farm policy, I have relied on Cecil's 
counsel and wisdom. His advice has always been sound, always deeply 
rooted in a respect and admiration for the people we both serve. He has 
never let us down.
  And, now, on his retirement, it is my fervent hope that we who 
inherit his years of dedication and service will preserve and 
perpetuate his example, that we do not let him down.

                          ____________________