Secretary of Agriculture, May 17, 1994 to December 31, 1997, and March 10, 2003 to January 31, 2007. Acting Secretary of Agriculture, January 22 to March 10, 2003.
Chair, Task Force on the Marketing of Grain and Other Agricultural Products, 2003. Member, Task Force to Study the Economic Development of the Maryland Seafood and Aquaculture Industries, 2003-04; Advisory Committee on the Management and Protection of the State's Water Resources, 2003-04; Task Force to Study the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation, 2003-05.
Lewis R. Riley, Secretary of Agriculture, February 2003. Photo by Richard Lippenholz.
Member, County Council, Wicomico County, 1966-78 (president, four years; vice-president, four years).
Member, House of Delegates, 1979-87. Minority Whip, 1982-87. Member, Environmental Matters Committee; Ways and Means Committee.
Member, State Senate, 1987-92. Member, Finance Committee, 1987-89; Budget and Taxation Committee, 1990-92; Joint Committee on Investigation.
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, 1992-94. Secretary of Agriculture, 1994-97. Member, Board of Regents, University of Maryland System, 1994-97; Governor's Executive Council, 1994-97; Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation, 1994-97; Governor's Council on the Chesapeake Bay, 1994-97; Maryland Food Center Authority, 1994-97; Governor's Pesticide Council, 1994-97; Scenic and Wild Rivers Review Board, 1994-97; State Soil Conservation Committee, 1994-97. Former member, Citizens Advisory Board for Holly Center; Delmarva Advisory Council.
Born in Parsonsburg, Maryland, February 19, 1935. Graduate of Wicomico Senior High School. Farmer; poultryman; businessman. President, Maryland Association of Counties, 1973. Member (50 years) and past president, Parsonsburg Volunteer Fire Department. Member, Wicomico County Farm Bureau. Former member, Advisory Board, First National Bank. President, Beaver Run Farms, Inc., a family farm corporation operated with his son, producing grain, swine, cattle, and poultry. Board of Directors, Delmarva Poultry Industry. Director, Farmers and Planters Company. Member, Building Fund Board, Peninsula Regional Medical Center, 2005-. Man of the Year, Maryland Grain Producers, 1996. Distinguished Citizen Award, Delmarva Poultry Industry, 1997. Friend of the Industry, Maryland Egg Council, 2003. Married; three children; five grandchildren; one great grandchild.
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