After a little more than six months leading the Arkansas Farm Bureau as its executive vice president, Jeff Pitchford has hung out his shingle as a lobbyist.
In May, Pitchford succeeded the retiring Warren Carter as EVP, the organization’s top executive. But he’s now the self-employed president of Statehouse Advisors of Little Rock.
Pitchford, a Mountain Home native and former vice president at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, spent eight years at the Farm Bureau before his promotion in the spring. The executive vice president heads the organization, reporting to the board of directors. When he was elevated at the nonprofit advocacy group, which represents 190,000 member families, Pitchford was praised for his lobbying experience.
But Pitchford realized that in leading the Farm Bureau he wouldn’t be involved in governmental relations.
“And it got to where I realized that was a real passion for me,” he said. “And I knew that would be something that I still wanted to do.”
Pitchford left the bureau on Nov. 18. He said his new firm will allow him to put his 28 years of experience at the Capitol to good use.
Another Farm Bureau leader, Public Relations Director Rob Anderson, also left the organization recently. Anderson has joined JTS Financial of Little Rock as vice president of marketing and communications.
Steve Eddington, the bureau’s vice president for public relations, said the board has yet to fill Pitchford’s position. The bureau announced last week that Bryan Pistole, creative director, had been promoted to director of PR.
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