[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 1625]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING THE 90TH BIRTHDAY OF THOMAS H. BIRDSONG III

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. DONALD S. BEYER, JR.

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 1, 2017

  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 90th birthday 
of Thomas H. Birdsong III, a great Virginia business leader.
  Mr. Birdsong has a lifetime of leadership and commitment within the 
peanut commodities business. His company, Birdsong Peanut, is the 
largest company of its kind in the United States. Birdsong Peanut 
Company got its start in 1914 as a feed and seed store in Courtland, 
Virginia. In 1939 the founder of Planters Peanuts, asked the company to 
relocate near his factory in Suffolk, Virginia. That plant is still in 
operation today. Mr. Birdsong partners with farmers throughout the 
United States and sells to peanut product manufacturers around the 
world. His clients consist of companies such as Mars, Snickers, and 
Smuckers.
  Thomas H. Birdsong III graduated from Randolph-Macon College in 1949, 
received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award from the college in 2009, 
and in 2013 received an honorary degree of law. He has also served as a 
philanthropic leader at Randolph Macon College. His commitment to 
quality and service has proven successful not only in the peanut 
business but also in community relationships both at home and around 
the globe.
  I am honored to congratulate Mr. Birdsong on his 90th birthday 
celebration; I thank him for the many lives that he has touched along 
the way. It is for these reasons that I join Mr. Birdsong's family and 
friends in wishing him a blessed 90th birthday and continued health and 
happiness in the years to come.

                          ____________________