News Release

(GAINESVILLE, Fla.) –They called him “Mr. Farm Bureau.” His career embraced virtually every aspect of the Farm Bureau organization. Dennis Emerson, FFBF director of field services, lost his battle with cancer in Gainesville on Aug. 14 at the age of 61.

The son of an Alachua tobacco farmer, Dennis began his 36-year career with Florida Farm Bureau in 1967 after graduating from the University of South Florida and spending four years in the U.S. Navy.

In succeeding years he at one time or another lent his talents to member relations and field services, labor issues, information programs, women’s programs, Young Farmer and Rancher programs and government relations.
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He served as a field man, lobbyist and assistant to the president under Walter Kautz. In the early 1980s, President Carl B. Loop Jr. appointed him director of field services.

Dennis also contributed to the agricultural community by serving on numerous boards and commissions including the 4-H and FFA foundations. He was for many years Florida Farm Bureau’s liaison to what is now the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Dennis was widely recognized as an inspirational speaker. When he addressed Farm Bureau groups, he always promoted the role of Farm Bureau as a powerful, positive force for agriculture. He was very proud of Farm Bureau and often shared his belief that the things the organization stood for were the same things that America stood for. He also unfailingly offered personal testimony to his Christian faith.

Dennis’ life is woven into the fabric of the Farm Bureau organization. We, along with the rest of the agriculture community, mourn his passing and will forever honor his memory. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Sandy, and their children and grandson.

Funeral services will be held at 3:30 on Saturday, Aug. 16, at New Oak Grove Baptist Church. Burial will be in Spring Hill Cemetery at Traxler under the care of Evans-Carter Funeral Home, 220 N. Main St., High Springs. Visitation will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Friday at New Oak Grove Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to Hospice House of North Central Florida, 4200 NW 90 Blvd., Gainesville.