Rep. Boozman Congratulates Roy Smith on His Federal Appointment

Rep. Boozman Congratulates Roy Smith on His Federal Appointment

Rep. John Boozman (R-AR) today issued the following comments congratulating Roy Smith on his appointment as the Arkansas State Director for USDA Rural Development.

"Roy has worked tirelessly for Arkansas' rural communities for over thirty years," said Boozman. "Arkansas' farmers can rest assured that our state's USDA Rural Development office is in good hands."

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced the appointment of Roy Smith as the Arkansas State Director for USDA Rural Development. Smith, a native of Harrison, Ark., joined the Farmers Home Administration, a predecessor agency of today's USDA Rural Development, in 1969. He retired from USDA Rural Development in 2002 and now owns and operates a 100-acre beef cattle farm. He is a graduate of Arkansas State University with a degree in Agricultural Education and is active in county, state, and national farming organizations.

"Roy's background as a farmer, his education in agriculture and his work for USDA Rural Development has proven that he is the right man for this job," said Boozman. "The president made an excellent choice when he asked Roy to join his team."

USDA Rural Development's mission is to deliver programs in a way that will support increasing economic opportunity and improve the quality of life of rural residents. As a venture capital entity, Rural Development has invested over $54 billion since the beginning of the Bush Administration to provide equity and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure. As a result, over 1 million jobs have been created or saved through these investments. Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA's web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.

http://www.boozman.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=30127