William Thomas Hawks, known as Bill Hawks (born November 22, 1944, near

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

), is an American politician, former civil servant, agricultural businessman, and founder and CEO of AgWorks Solutions, LLC.

Early life and education

Hawks was born on November 22, 1944, near

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 14th most populous city in Mississippi, United States, and the county seat of Lafayette County, Mississippi, Lafayette County, southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis. A college town, Oxford ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Science (1968) and Master of Science (1970) in Agricultural Economics from

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

. Hawks served in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

from 1968 to 1970 where he became a corporal, the

Mississippi Army National Guard The Mississippi Army National Guard is the Army National Guard component of the Mississippi National Guard. It was originally formed in 1798. It is a component of the United States Army and the National Guard (United States), National Guard. It ...

from 1970 to 1972 where he became a sergeant and the

Tennessee Air National Guard The Tennessee Air National Guard (TN ANG) is the aerial militia of the Tennessee, State of Tennessee, United States, United States of America. It is, along with the Tennessee Army National Guard an element of the Tennessee National Guard of the la ...

from 1972 until 1980 where he became a

technical sergeant Technical sergeant is the name of three current and two former enlisted ranks in the United States Armed Forces, as well as in the U.S. Civil Air Patrol. Outside the United States, it is used only by the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, and ...

."Questionnaire for United States Department of Agriculture Nominees: Biographical Information (Public)", ''Nomination Hearing for William T. Hawks and Eric M. Bost'', Senate Hearing 107-435, Hearing Before the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry,

107th United States Congress The 107th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January ...

, First Session, May 16, 2001,

United States Government Printing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO), formerly the United States Government Printing Office, is an agency of the Legislature, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal gove ...

, Washington, DC, 2002, page 36.

Career

Hawks started farming after finishing graduate school by owning and operating a dairy in DeSoto County in northwestern Mississippi. In the early 1970s, he began to lease land from neighbors to get started in a row crop operation Hawks was the managing partner of Hawks Farming, which farmed approximately 12,000 acres of land in three counties in northern Mississippi. This operation consisted of soybeans, double-cropped winter wheat, corn, cotton, and cattle. In the late-1980s, Hawks was a part owner in a professional farm management company, Sunbelt Land and Timber Company. During the early 1990s, Hawks owned and managed Northwest Mississippi Flying Service, an agricultural aerial application service, and owned and operated a recreational airport. The Hawks family also owned DeSoto East, a residential development company. In December 1994, Hawks was elected to the

Mississippi State Senate The Mississippi State Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the Lower house, lower Mississippi House of Represen ...

, representing DeSoto County. During his five years as a state senator, he was a leader on the committees with jurisdiction over agriculture and the environment. In 1999, he was the Republican nominee for

Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi The lieutenant governor of Mississippi is the second-highest ranking elected executive officer in the U.S. state of Mississippi, below the governor of Mississippi, and is the only official in the state to be a member of two branches of state gov ...

. On May 24, 2001, during the

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

administration, Hawks was sworn in as the

Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs The under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs is a high-ranking position within the United States Department of Agriculture that supervises policy development and day-to-day operations of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, ...

United States Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments The department includes several organi ...

Ann Veneman Ann Margaret Veneman (born June 29, 1949) is an American attorney who served as the fifth executive director of UNICEF from 2005 to 2010. She previously served as the 27th United States secretary of agriculture from 2001 to 2005. Veneman served f ...

. Hawks resigned from the USDA position in June 2005. In January 2006, Hawks formed AgWorks Solutions, a

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, consulting and government relations firm that specializes in animal health and agriculture-related trade. Since 2010, Hawks has been a member of the American Lumber Standards Board of Review and has served as Chairman since 2015. In 2014, Hawks received the United States Animal Health Association Medal of Distinction. Throughout his career, he has been active in many agricultural boards and committees such as

American Farm Bureau Federation The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), more informally called the American Farm Bureau (AFB) or simply the Farm Bureau, is a United States–based 501(c)(5) tax-exempt agricultural organization and lobbying group. Headquartered in Was ...

American Soybean Association The American Soybean Association (ASA) is an association of 21,000 American soybean producers. John Heisdorffer is the 2018 President of the Association. Stephen Censky worked for ASA for 23 years, 21 of those as CEO, and then left to become Uni ...

, and the

National Corn Growers Association The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is an association that represents and advocates for the interests of corn growers in the United States. It is distinct from the American Corn Growers Association, a competing organization set up in 1 ...

Personal life

He has three children and is married to the former Robin Desha Lucas.

References

External links

USDA biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawks, Bill 1944 births Living people Mississippi National Guard personnel Republican Party Mississippi state senators Mississippi State University alumni People from Oxford, Mississippi People from DeSoto County, Mississippi Farmers from Mississippi American businesspeople in real estate Businesspeople from Mississippi Tennessee National Guard personnel United States Air Force non-commissioned officers United States Army non-commissioned officers United States Army reservists United States under secretaries of agriculture 20th-century members of the Mississippi Legislature