The 2014 National Cotton Council president is Wallace L. Darneille, a Lubbock, Texas, cooperative marketer. Darneille took the NCC helm during the council’s annual meeting held in Washington, DC, on Feb. 7-9. He succeeds Jimmy Dodson, a Robstown, Texas, cotton producer.

The NCC’s vice chairman for 2014 is Sledge Taylor, a Como, Miss., ginner.

According to the NCC, Darneille has been president and chief executive officer of Plains Cotton Cooperative Association since 2004. The member-owned cooperative has interests in cotton marketing, warehousing, software development/services, denim production in Texas and apparel production in Guatemala. Previously, Darneille was senior vice president of Weil Brothers Cotton Inc. in Montgomery, Ala., where for 30 years he managed a variety of global cotton merchandizing operations.

In 2013, Darneille served as the NCC’s vice chairman. He was the chairman of Cotton Council International (CCI) in 2011, after serving as its president in 2010. He also served as the chairman of the National Council of Textile Organizations in 2009 through 2010. He was the first American to be named president of the International Cotton Association in Liverpool, England, in 2007.

Darneille has served as president of the Texas Cotton Association, as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, and as a board member of CCI, the American Cotton Shippers Association, the Texas Agricultural Coop Council, Telmark, Denimatrix and The Seam.

Darneille earned his B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1973 and his MBA from Auburn University in 1980. He has received honors and awards from the U.S. State Department, Auburn University, Texas Tech University and a number of civic organizations.

Darneille and his wife, Margy, have been very active in many community and church fund-raising activities in both Montgomery and Lubbock. They have four children and five grandchildren, and are members of the Episcopal Church.

Also at the annual meeting:

Re-elected NCC vice presidents by industry segment are:

NCC staff officers include: Dr. Mark Lange, NCC president and chief executive officer; John Maguire, senior vice president, Washington Operations; Dr. Gary Adams, vice president, Economics and Policy Analysis; Craig Brown, vice president, Producer Affairs; Dr. Bill Norman, vice president, Technical Services; Harrison Ashley, vice president, Ginner Services; Kevin Latner, vice president, Foreign Operations; and Fred Johnson, vice president, Administration and Program Coordination.