Bill Hawks

Bill Hawks
William Thomas Hawks, known as Bill Hawks (born November 22, 1944 near Oxford, Mississippi), 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. He earned a Bachelor of Science (1968) and Master of Science (1970) in Agricultural Economics from Mississippi State University.
Hawks served in the United States Army Reserve from 1968 to 1970 where he became a corporal, the Mississippi Army National Guard from 1970 to 1972 where he became a sergeant and the Tennessee Air National Guard from 1972 until 1980 where he became a technical sergeant.
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, 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.
On May 24, 2001, during the George W. Bush administration, Hawks was sworn in as the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs by United States Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman. Hawks resigned from the USDA position in June 2005.
In January 2006, Hawks formed AgWorks Solutions, a Washington, D.C. 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, American Soybean Association, and the National Corn Growers Association.
Personal life
He has three children and is married to the former Robin Desha Lucas.
References
External links
USDA biography
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 real estate businesspeople
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