Farmers Honor Longtime Vice President for Service to Agriculture

By Marlee Jackson

Few men are as stalwart, steady and straightforward as Jake Harper.

The Wilcox County cattleman and timber landowner has offered his logical mind, plain speech and acumen for accountability to fellow farmers for decades, most recently as Southwest Area vice president of the Alabama Farmers Federation and Alfa Insurance.

"I want it right," Harper remarked in reference to his intense review of board minutes, financials, publications and Federation proposals, a faint grin slicing across his stoic face.

He was honored for that commitment to excellence Dec. 8 when Federation President Jimmy Parnell presented him the Service to Agriculture Award during the organization's 104th annual meeting in Montgomery.

The Service to Agriculture Award is the Federation's highest honor.

"Jake is an extremely valuable board member who understands our history. His institutional knowledge is irreplaceable," Parnell said. "He's very good at analyzing numbers and getting to what matters. That makes him an asset."

Parnell continued, "Along with all of that, Jake is my friend. I don't remember when Jake wasn't my friend. He is honest - telling me what's positive and what's negative. You don't often get that."

Harper's Federation involvement has flourished despite its painful origin. He joined the Wilcox County Farmers Federation (WCFF) board in 1981, filling the seat of his late father. A willingness to serve meant he was soon elected WCFF president, a role he continues to hold.

By 1987, Harper was chair of the State Young Farmers Committee, followed by nine years on the state board serving District 9 - a swath of counties that cuts through central Alabama's Black Belt.

In 2003, peers from 17 counties elected him Southwest Area vice president. A man of high integrity, Harper has since been unchallenged.

Term limits, however, mean his chapter as vice president ends this December.

"They say politics is timing. I was at the right place in the right time," Harper said. "It's been a very good run, but it's time to go home."

A Southern gentleman, Harper's towering frame has born well the weight of representing those who trusted him to take their interests to the state level.

He's spent the final months of his vice presidency like the previous decades - departing from his home in the heart of the Southwest Area to traverse backroads en route to meet with farmers in Baldwin, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Dallas, Escambia, Hale, Lowndes, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Sumter, Washington and Wilcox counties.

"I didn't miss a county meeting unless another county met the same night or it was something I couldn't help," Harper said. "My daddy always used to say, 'If you play, you gotta pay.' I don't want to be elected to something in title and not do my duty."

Harper and his wife, Pam, a pharmacist, instilled the value of service in their children, Jacob, Morgan and Claudia. The young Harpers quickly learned their father's work was a familial duty.

That still rings true.

Harper was attending an Alabama FarmPAC meeting two years ago when Pam fell off a ladder at home and shattered her ankle. She called Morgan, who wanted to alert his father.

Pam refused - until the meeting adjourned.

"We take Jake's position very seriously. Our life has revolved around these obligations," she said. "This is his watch. When he leaves this company, he wants his time to have helped it continue on a pathway of success."

Harper phoned into the next board meeting, his sole absence from the Federation board room in 32 cumulative years of service.

In addition to his Federation service, Harper is a longtime local Soil & Water Conservation District board member; has served multiple terms on the Federation State Forestry Committee; and is on the Forever Wild Land Trust board. He's also past president of the Alabama Association of Conservation Districts and Alabama TREASURE Forest Association. The Harpers attend Camden Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church.

While this season of change is admittedly emotional, the Harpers said they look forward to adventures ahead, including greater freedom as Papa and Gigi to grandsons Cal, Banks and Wil, plus time with Jacob and wife Landon; Morgan and wife Patricia; and Claudia and husband Bannock Farrens.

As board members have changed, Harper has been a steady source of insight to incoming leaders. His influence is undeniable - though he humbly sidesteps the compliment.

"I have learned a lot, and I hope I've given just a little to the Federation," he said. "It's just really matured me in what I saw, what I learned and who I met. The outstanding men and women who have served on the board have been admirable individuals."