Blanche Lincoln, a two-term senator from Arkansas and key member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, will be the featured speaker at the 74th annual meeting of the Delta Council at Delta State University, June 12.

Blanche Lincoln

Lincoln, a member of a seventh-generation Arkansas farm family from the Helena area, will join a long list of Arkansans, including former President Bill Clinton, who have spoken to the attendees at Delta Council Day.

“We are pleased that Sen. Lincoln will address the members and friends of Delta Council at this year’s meeting,” said Delta Council President John Phillips. “During her tenure in Congress, she has distinguished herself as an advocate of the fundamental issues facing the Delta, including rural development, agricultural policy, trade policy, work force training and health care.”

As one of the Agriculture Committee’s top-ranking Democrats, she was appointed chair of the Production, Income Protection and Price Support Subcommittee for the 110th Congress. From that platform, Lincoln has led on national priorities such as farm policy, health care, alternative energy, social security, tax policy, education, farm policy, hunger, nutrition, and veterans’ benefits.

“Sen. Lincoln has been a real friend to the Mississippi Delta region and has shown the ability to work with our entire congressional delegation in Mississippi — particularly her colleague on the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, Sen. Thad Cochran — when issues important to rural areas like Arkansas and Mississippi are considered,” Phillips said.

The 74th Delta Council annual meeting will begin at 10:30 a.m. This year’s meeting is sponsored by BankPlus, Land Banks of Mississippi, Jimmy Sanders., Inc., and five organizations representing “Voices of Mississippi Agriculture:” Catfish Farmers of Mississippi, Corn Promotion Board, Cotton, Incorporated, Rice Promotion Board and Soybean Promotion Board.

Lincoln’s keynote address will follow a full morning’s activities, including a salute to Delta Honor Graduates by Mississippi Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, and an annual report on the region’s activities and priorities. Delta Council will also recognize those who have made significant contributions in other critical areas of Delta life.

Lincoln’s address, which will be given at the Bologna Performing Arts Center, is scheduled to conclude at noon, when the Delta Council members and guests will move to the Delta State University Quadrangle for a fried catfish luncheon.

Lincoln was first elected to U.S. Senate at the age of 38 in 1998, and re-elected in 2004. Lincoln’s Senate committee assignments include the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, the Finance Committee, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and the Special Committee on Aging.

Lincoln was first elected to public office in 1992 as U.S. Representative for Arkansas’ 1st Congressional District. She received a bachelor’s degree from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Va., and studied at the University of Arkansas. Lincoln and her husband, Steve Lincoln, are the parents of twin boys.

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