[tps_title]Jimmy Parnell[/tps_title]
Agriculture-related industries account for 580,295 Alabama jobs and generate $70.4 billion for the state’s economy. So needless to say, as the head of the largest farmers organization in the state, Parnell has some serious horsepower. Throw in ALFA’s massive insurance operation and you’ve got a business and political behemoth that is rivaled by only a couple of entities in the state.
Parnell has a history of doing things fast. He was driving a tractor by age five and managing his family farm’s payroll by age 12. He graduated from high school in three years and from Auburn by age 20. And when he took over the reins at ALFA in December of 2012, he quickly established himself as a major player in state politics. Parnell’s down-to-Earth leadership style has drawn rave reviews from lawmakers. His stature combined with his lobbying team — among the most active in the Statehouse — has made the Parnell-led Farmers’ Federation one of the elite governmental affairs operations in the state.
Parnell oversaw a wildly successful 2014 election cycle, during which Federation-backed candidates won almost all of the organization’s targeted races. That is thanks in part to ALFA’s unrivaled network of grassroots activists, another Federation asset with which few other outfits can compete. Every candidate covets their endorsement.
With Parnell now in his third year at the helm, he’s hitting his stride and appears poised to take ALFA to new heights.
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