[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 7148]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO WALTON GRESHAM

 Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to commend Walton 
Gresham of Indianola, MS, for his service and contributions to the 
State of Mississippi while serving as the 79th president of the Delta 
Council. This important organization was formed in 1935 and has grown 
into a widely respected economic development group representing the 
business, professional, and agricultural interests of the Mississippi 
Delta. I am grateful to Delta Council for its continuous role in 
meeting the economic and quality of life challenges in this unique part 
of our country.
  Walton Gresham's tenure as council president began soon after 
Congress enacted the Agricultural Act of 2014, and his effective 
leadership has helped Mississippi producers adapt to the new federal 
agriculture policies established by this new farm bill. Mr. Gresham has 
been an active leader on transportation issues in our State, and he is 
constructively engaged as Congress prepares to consider legislation to 
reauthorize Federal spending on highway and public transportation 
programs that are vitally important to the Mississippi Delta and its 
future. Mr. Gresham's dedication to confronting health care disparities 
and higher education needs in our State should also be commended. 
Through its work with Delta Council, Mr. Gresham's family has improved 
Mississippi's workforce training and readiness.
  In addition to his role as president of Delta Council, Mr. Gresham 
has been active in the Mississippi Propane Gas Association, the 
National Propane Gas Association, the Petroleum Marketers Association 
of America, the Mississippi Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores 
Association, and the Mississippi Economic Council. He serves on the 
board of directors of Planters Bank, Propane Energy Group, Delta 
Terminal, Gresham-McPherson Oil Company, DoubleQuick, and Indianola 
Insurance Agency. He is a past president of the Indianola Rotary Club 
and Indianola Country Club.
  Walton Gresham is a respected businessman and his performance as 
president of Delta Council will complement his well-earned reputation 
for unselfish service to improve the quality of life for those who live 
and do business in the Mississippi Delta region. His dedication to the 
future of the delta and all of those who live there is sincere. I am 
pleased to join the people of my State in commending Walton Gresham and 
sharing our appreciation with his wife Laura and their children Lenore 
and Elizabeth as they prepare for the 80th annual meeting of the Delta 
Council organizational membership, at which time, he will reflect on 
his successful tenure before passing the torch to a new 
president.

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