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Tommy Irvin, 17 April 2008.

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@ Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies

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Thomas T. "Tommy" Irvin was born July 14, 1929, in Lula, Georgia, and was the son of sharecroppers. He grew up on a farm in White County. After the death of his father in a sawmill accident, Irvin was forced to drop out of high school to support his mother and siblings. He went on to make his father's sawmill business extremely successful. He moved to Habersham County, and in 1956 was elected to the school board. He later became chairman and president of the Georgia School Boards Association. In 1956 he was asked to run for the state legislature. He won, and at 33, Irvin was one of the youngest members of the Georgia General Assembly. Lester Maddox asked him to manage his gubernatorial campaign. Upon Maddox's election, Irvin became floor leader and executive secretary. In 1969, Maddox appointed him to be agricultural commissioner. He became the longest serving agricultural commissioner in the United States, retiring in 2010.Irvin discusses his early life working on a farm and his public service career, including his role on the Habersham County School Board, his later service as chairman and president of the Georgia School Boards Association, his election to the Georgia General Assembly, his management of Lester Maddox's 1966 gubernatorial campaign, and his role as Georgia's Commissioner of Agriculture from 1969 to 2011. He covers issues related to agriculture on state, national, and international levels, such as food safety, foreign trade, food prices, and the effect of immigration on production. Irvin also...
Type:
Video
Contributors:
Short, Bob, 1932
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Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies

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Digital Library of Georgia