UT Junior College grad honored in Hall of Fame

Friends and former staff members of 8th District U.S. Rep. Ed Jones gathered Oct. 4 to pay tribute to the late congressman and honor his induction into the Tennessee Agricultural Hall of Fame. Jones became only the 13th hall of fame member when he was elected in 2011.

A dinner was held in the UC where a large bronze plaque was displayed that will later reside in the Tennessee Agricultural Hall of Fame collection. The collection is maintained by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture at the Tennessee Agricultural Museum in Nashville.

Jones, a Yorkville native, earned a two-year degree in 1932 from UT Junior College, predecessor to UTM, and a bachelor’s degree in 1934 from UTK. During his career, he served as a state dairy inspector, an agricultural agent for the Illinois Central Railroad, a farm radio host and was appointed Tennessee commissioner of agriculture under Gov. Gordon Browning.

Jones is probably best known for his service from 1969-89 as U.S. representative, and he remained active in his family’s farm throughout his career.

While in Congress, Jones was a senior member of the House Committee on Agriculture during a time of change in the agriculture industry and the institutions that supported it. Notable events that occurred during his career were the Farm Strike and Tractorcade to Washington, D.C., in the late 1970s, the financial struggles of the Farm Credit System, the regulation of the futures market, and the transition of the soil and water conservation programs.

Anthony Haynes, UT System vice president for government relations, emceed the dinner and reminded the audience of the “Ed Jones is My Congressman” slogan used by the popular U.S. representative at election time.

“If you were running for office … you wanted your signs as close to his as possible,” he said. “Ed Jones was to retail politics what (coach) ‘Bear’ Bryant was to college football.”

UTM Chancellor Tom Rakes welcomed the crowd of Jones friends, supporters and former staff members.

“I would argue that we have the strongest undergraduate agriculture programs in the state,” he said. Rakes pointed to the university’s agriculture-related outreach, including the Ned McWherter Agricultural Complex, the West Tennessee Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and the new veterinary health technology program, as examples of commitment to the agricultural industry and education.

Tennessee Commissioner of Agriculture Julius Johnson, who knew Jones during his career with the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation, commended Rakes and others in attendance “for helping to bring attention to one of Tennessee’s agriculture true treasures, Congressman Ed Jones.”

“I think it’s appropriate that the university is building upon his legacy in agriculture through the Ed Jones Distinguished Lecture Series and scholarship fund,” Johnson said. “I know Congressman Jones would certainly be proud.”

The original Ed Jones Distinguished Lecture Series began in 1989 at the university, and Jones actively supported the series until it ended in 1995. A lead gift of $12,500 in June from Farm Credit Mid-America was the first step toward endowing the lecture series, which will now include the congressman’s late wife’s name and be called the Ed and Llew Jones Distinguished Lecture Series.

Commenting on the congressman’s induction into the Tennessee Agricultural Hall of Fame, Johnson added, “He certainly left his mark on our nation’s agriculture and is responsible for championing many of the programs in conservation, farm finance and risk management that we now take for granted. Through it all, Mr. Jones never lost sight of his life’s mission to improve the livelihood of farmers and the lives of rural Americans.”

Former U.S. Rep. John Tanner, who succeeded Jones in his congressional seat and served 11 terms, was the event’s keynote speaker.

“I never heard anybody say anything but that Mr. Ed Jones was a gentleman,” Tanner said. “Whatever his politics were, whatever he stood for, he was a gentleman.

“And beyond that, he had a vision for the future. He understood that for this country to be strong and free, you had to have investment, public investment, in infrastructure. … And he was pretty keen on a pretty robust agricultural policy as well.”

Tanner recognized and thanked those who worked for Jones and the people of the 8th Congressional District.

“I think he would be so proud to know that this network (of people) still exists,” he said.

Dr. Jim Culver, president, CEO and director of VVC Exploration Corp. and a former congressional aide to Jones, offered highlights from the late congressman’s life. He noted that Jones did many things in his career, “but through all of what he did in life, Ed Jones was always a farmer, and he always felt like he was a farmer.”

“Working for him was the highlight of my career,” Culver said.

Donations can be made to the Ed Jones Gift Fund, which supports the university’s Ed and Llew Jones Distinguished Lecture Series. Contact the UTM Office of Development, 329 Hall-Moody Administration Building, Martin, TN 38238, or call 731-881-7620. Gifts to the lecture series fund can also be made online at www.utmforever.com/jones.