H.L. (HANK) HODGES

H.L. (HANK) HODGES was born August 24, 1923 in the tiny Carroll County, MS, hamlet of Coila and was educated in the Greenwood Public Schools. When he first started working part time at Staplcotn his senior year in high school, Miss Mary McCain, his teacher, asked "What are you going to do with yourself after Staplcotn?" Hodges told her "I'm not going to do anything. I'm going to be President of Staplcotn." Here was a young man who knew what he wanted.

"Hank was the consummate technician," Billy Percy said. "Talk to him for 15 minutes and you knew he was an accountant, and a most competent one. Hank Hodges was the perfect president for his time. He had a vast knowledge of the organization, knew everybody in it, and probably 95 percent of its members. He was a very steadying influence at the time, and that's what Staplcotn needed," he said.

"Hank bit off a pretty good chunk introducing the Mill Sales Program," said Percy". That revolutionized Staplcotn, and it really started the Association growing, going from fairly good volumes to tremendous volumes. He developed a support for it and got all the directors to commit to it. Once he did that then other members said, 'If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me."

"It was under Hank's leadership that the major changes in the organization took place," said Aven Whittington. "We got out of the chemical and fertilizer part and concentrated on the marketing and storing of cotton."

In addition to his work with Staplcotn, Hodges was president of Cotton Council International, AMCOT, the Region VI Mental Health-Mental Retardation Commission, Beacon Harbor, Inc., and the Greenwood Junior Chamber of Commerce. He was a director of National Cotton Council, Deposit Guaranty National Bank, the Mississippi Council of Farmer Cooperatives, Delta Council, American Red Cross, the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce, Leflore County United Givers and Cottonlandia Museum. After retiring in 1986, Hodges served as chairman of AMCOT until 1993.

Hodges and his wife, the former Jean Downing of Weslaco, Texas, are the parents of two sons.