James C. Bryant, 32°, K.C.C.H.
1470 Leafmore Place, Decatur, Georgia 30033–2023

Tommy Irvin is the stuff legends are made of, the embodiment of the American doctrine that by study, hard work, and self-improvement, one can rise to high achievement. A high school dropout, Georgia's Commissioner of Agriculture for the past 30 years is the state's longest-serving state official, a college trustee, former state representative, past Grand Master, and the recipient of numerous honors.

In the 1998 election, he received more than one million votes, the highest total of any candidate running for any office in Georgia that year. It was no accident, because he is well known and well respected as a seasoned statesman who is active in many Masonic Bodies.

At 70, the Commissioner, who stands more than 6 feet 5 inches tall, believes strongly in a hard work ethic. "We picked cotton by hand and stripped our corn," he said, recalling his childhood years as the son of a Georgia sharecropper. "I had a homemade wagon I'd made. We didn't have money back in those days, so we traded eggs or chicken for coffee or sugar, things we could not produce on our farm."

His teenage life ended when he had to drop out of high school and go to work following the death of his father in a sawmill accident. He was suddenly responsible for his mother, two younger brothers, and two younger sisters. He married at age 18, and only one year later the first of his five children was born. Continuing to run the sawmill, he managed to make it a prosperous business. By age 25, he had become one of the most successful businessmen in northeast Georgia. Years later, he was the first person ever inducted into the Georgia Agrirama Hall of Fame.

Although he never attended college, he is a trustee of Truett–McConnell College in Cleveland, Georgia. "I have had to receive the lessons I need to survive in the world I work in," he said, "but I admire those who have basic training early in life. I've had to get mine one lesson at a time." He believes strongly in education.

People admire his dogged determination and like his genuine concern for others. And, although he never returned to high school, the citizens of Habersham County elected him to the school board in 1956, a position he held for almost twenty years. He said, since he had to leave school to support his family, he wanted to see other young people have better opportunities than he did.

Later that year, some local leaders went to his farm three mornings in a row while he was milking and convinced him to run for the State Legislature. He received twice as many votes as his two opponents combined. At age 33, he was one of the youngest members of the Georgia General Assembly. His tenure in the state House lasted eight years before he quit to accept a bigger responsibility.

During his time in the Legislature, Irvin caught the attention of Lester Maddox, who persuaded him to run his successful gubernatorial campaign. After Maddox was elected, Irvin served as his Floor Leader and later as his Executive Secretary. He sold his lumber business in 1967 and entered politics fulltime. When the state's former Agricultural Commissioner left to work in President Nixon's administration in 1969, Governor Maddox appointed Irvin to the seat without even consulting him. "I didn't know anything about it until the newspaper called me for a comment," Irvin said. While his political office brings him to Atlanta every day, Irvin and his wife, Bernice, still live on a farm 40 miles away in the Glade Creek Community of Habersham County. They attend Antioch Baptist Church there where he is a deacon and song leader.

His performance as a Mason has been equally impressive. Initiated in Mt. Airy Lodge No. 141 in December 1953, he was raised a Master Mason in February of the next year and immediately became a Lodge Officer, serving on the Degree Team and as a Catechism Coach. His Brothers elected him Worshipful Master within a year. By the time he left that office two years later, he had led the Lodge to purchase property and build its present Lodge Hall. His commitment, leadership, dedication, and service to the Craft earned him the Georgia Grand Lodge Distinguished Service Medal in 1983.

Ill. Irvin is both a York Rite and Scottish Rite Mason. In 1966, he received the 32nd Degree in the Valley of Atlanta, and in 1981 he was invested with the Rank and Decoration of Knight Commander of the Court of Honour. Six years later, he was coroneted an Inspector General Honorary, 33°, together with U.S. Senator Sam Nunn who was elected a Grand Cross in 1993 and whose portrait hangs in the Scottish Rite Hall of Honor in the House of the Temple in Washington, D.C.

Commissioner Irvin has been a Shriner of Yaarab Temple in Atlanta since 1955 and a member of the Royal Order of Jesters since 1982. Progressing up the Grand Lodge Officer line for eight years, he became Georgia Grand Master in October 1993. He credits Masonry for giving him self-esteem and the ability to speak before a group. "Progressing through the chairs and serving twice as Worshipful Master of my Lodge gave me self-confidence," he said.

Ill. Tommy Irvin has Masonry in his heart and believes Masons should speak in such a way as to solicit interest in the Fraternity. "We don't generally invite people to be Masons," he said, "but we can speak up about Masonry and tell people what it has meant to us." He obviously believes in self-improvement and taking advantage of opportunities, regardless of humble surroundings or seemingly impossible odds.

Still admirable, still hard at work as Georgia's number one agriculture man, and still one of the State's most visible Masons, Ill. Tommy Irvin stands tall among us and thankful he was taught to love God, family, work, and country, principles he has cherished throughout his long and useful career.

Dr. James C. Bryant is currently Special Assistant to the President and University Historian at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Author of several books and articles, he is a frequent speaker, lecturer, and traveler.