Commissioner Ron Sparks
(2003 - Present)
Ron Sparks was born and raised in Ft. Payne, Alabama where he learned hard working values from his mother and grandmother. He began working in the sock mills of DeKalb County while still attending high school. Upon graduation from Ft. Payne High School in 1971, Sparks entered the United States Coast Guard and served as a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Honor Guard. He was also a member of the Coast Guard Search and Rescue. While serving in the Coast Guard, Commissioner Sparks received numerous commendations and letters of merit including the United States Coast Guard Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service in the Performance of Duty with Operational Distinguishing Device.
After completing his service in the Coast Guard, Sparks graduated from Northeast Alabama Community College. In 1978, at the age of 24 he became one of the youngest County Commissioners elected in the State of Alabama.
Sparks was a successful businessman in the Ft. Payne area and was very active in local community organizations. Some of those organizations included: the Fort Payne Jaycees, serving as their vice president; the United Giver's Fund; the Kiwanis Club; the Fort Payne Athletic Boosters, serving as their president; served as Commander of the American Legion Post 89; Forest Avenue PTA, serving as president; PTO Council, serving as vice president. Sparks has also served on several state boards such as the Alabama Secretary of State's Task Force to reform election laws and the Lt. Governor's Task Force to reform and pass laws on violence in schools.
Ron Sparks has also been active for over 20 years coaching the youth athletics in the DeKalb County area and has had the pleasure of seeing students on a National Championship football team and also progress to the Professional level of athletics.
One of Sparks' proudest moments in his career came in 1993 when he was appointed Director of the 911 System and was instrumental in designing and implementing the on-line program in DeKalb County. In 1998, he was elected the State President of Alabama 911.
In 1999, he was appointed Assistant Commissioner of Agriculture & Industries. He served in this post until the opportunity presented itself once again for him to step forward and seek public office. In 2003, Sparks was sworn in as the Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries and in 2006 he easily won re-election to his second term by winning 62 out of 67 counties and tying 2 more. His grandmothers, who have always been very important to him, were able to hold the Bible for him while he was being sworn into office.
Commissioner Sparks has been able to bring public awareness of the role of the Department of Agriculture & Industries to a whole new level. He has focused on the serious issues facing agriculture in Alabama and is a strong advocate for farmers. Sparks has built his management team with dedicated men and women who are ready to help move Alabama and the Department of Agriculture and Industries forward into a new era.
Sparks has expanded the Food Safety Division so that more of our imported food is tested for harmful chemicals that have been banned for use in food in the United States. He has long been an advocate of Country of Origin Labeling and consumer protection. Thousands of pounds of imported seafood have been stopped before it made its way to Alabama dinner tables. Commissioner Sparks has also dedicated the resources necessary to help Alabama become less dependent on foreign oil. Sparks established the Center for Alternative Fuels to serve as a central hub for information in the field of alternative fuels.
Another area in which great strides have been made is in the area of child nutrition. He helped implement several new programs at the department including the Farm to School Program. Commissioner Sparks has also worked closely with the Alabama Department of Education to influence the food that Alabama's children are served in our schools.
In 2004, Commissioner Sparks oversaw the groundbreaking of two new diagnostic labs in Alabama - one in Auburn and another in Elba. Commissioner Sparks and his staff have also worked aggressively to help bring perpetrators of agriculture crimes to justice.
Sparks has also met with national and international leaders to help open new markets for Alabama's farmers including: the Secretary of Agriculture for the African Nation of Benin, the Mayor of New Delhi, India; the Agriculture Secretary for Italy, and Cuban President Fidel Castro.
Commissioner Sparks completed his term as President of the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture and was named to the board of directors to the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and became president-elect of that organization in 2007.
Among his many honors, Commissioner Sparks has been named the 2006 Friend of Labor by the Alabama AFL-CIO and received the Innovative Alabama Governments Awards from the Auburn Montgomery Center for Government at Auburn University in Montgomery.
Sparks has three children, Misty Dixon, Sparky Sparks and Luke Sparks and one grandchild, Jake Dixon.
~ Last Updated: October 2007