Paul H. Harvel

Paul Harvel made his mark on Arkansas agriculture through a lifetime of work with Chambers of Commerce in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Raised on a farm in Keller, Texas,  Harvel’s father was a vocational agriculture teacher. Lessons learned on the farm and from his parents led him to promote agriculture throughout a 40-year career. As a vo-ag instructor at Hope High School in the 60s, Harvel helped develop the FFA program there into the state’s largest chapter at that time. But classroom teaching was not to be his life’s calling. In 1968, he was hired as director of the agriculture development program of the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce. In this capacity Harvel’s achievements included managing the Farm and Ranch Club, support of 4-H and FFA programs, assisting with the Arkansas State Fair and superintendent of the livestock division. During this time he was promoted to general manager of the Little Rock Chamber, a position he held until 1974. Harvel left Little Rock for president and chief executive officer positions with chambers of commerce in El Dorado, Enid, Okla., Midland and Amarillo, Texas and never lost his passion for promoting agriculture in those communities. Harvel returned to Little Rock in 1985 as president and general manager of the Little Rock Regional Chamber and immediately re-established the agriculture program which had been discontinued during his absence. He hired C.R. Sawrie, also an Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame member, to direct the program and take it to new heights. Under Harvel’s direction, a 25-person agriculture committee was created and membership in the Farm and Ranch Club increased. But, perhaps his most notable achievement was creation of the Arkansas Agriculture Hall of Fame in 1987. Harvel later accepted the position of president and CEO of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries. Coordination of the Ag Hall of Fame was assumed by the Arkansas Farm Bureau in 2002, but Harvel saw to it that the State Chamber was a co-sponsor. Harvel now resides in Arkadelphia, where he is president and CEO of the Economic Development Alliance of Clark County.