By Marla Jones, Managing Editor • marla@southerntorch.com

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) recently announced the hiring of former Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Ron Sparks to his team.

Sparks will serve as the Regional Director for the Middle District of Alabama, which includes Montgomery and Dothan.

“Doug’s been a friend of mine for a long time, so certainly it’s an honor for Doug to ask me to do what he’s asked me to do,” said Sparks. “The most important thing to me [is that] this is not partisan, we’ve got a lot of work to do to help people that need it. That’s my goal. That’s the Senator’s goal and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Sparks was born and raised in DeKalb County in Fort Payne, Alabama. He was first elected to public office in 1977 as a DeKalb County Commissioner. In 2003, he was elected Commissioner of Agriculture for the State of Alabama.

During his tenure as Agriculture Commissioner, Sparks also served as President of the Southern Association of Departments of Agriculture and in 2008, he was elected as President of the National Association of Departments of Agriculture.

In 2010, Sparks was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Alabama.

Following his leave from elected office, Sparks served as Director of the Alabama Rural Development Office under Governor Robert Bentley.

In a statement, Senator Jones said:

“Ron has a long record of distinguished service to Alabama, and I know he’ll be an invaluable asset to my team. I look forward to having him lead our outreach efforts in the Middle District and to continue to provide first-class constituent service.”