Simmons Foods Gift Honors Company’s Founding Father

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Siloam Springs-based Simmons Foods Inc. has provided a $125,000 gift to support the University of Arkansas Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

The M.H. “Bill” Simmons Honors College Academy Scholarships will be created by $120,000 and matched by $120,000 from funds available through the Matching Gift Program to create a $240,000 scholarship endowment. The remaining $5,000 will go to the department of poultry science. The Simmons Honors College Academy Scholarships will benefit highly qualified students interested in poultry science and agricultural business.

Greg Weidemann, dean of Bumpers College, said: “We are very grateful to Mark and Todd Simmons and Simmons Foods for their support of Bumpers College. This endowed scholarship fund will go a long way toward strengthening our student recruitment efforts and provides an attractive opportunity for outstanding students with an interest in agriculture to attend the University of Arkansas.”

Mark Simmons, chairman, is a second-generation owner of Simmons Foods Inc., which was founded in 1949 by Mark’s father, M.H. “Bill” Simmons. Under Mark Simmons’ direction, Simmons Foods has grown to become one of the nation’s largest privately held broiler processing companies. Mark’s son, Todd, is the president of the company. Simmons Foods produces and distributes fresh and frozen poultry products to grocery stores and restaurants, the company also makes ingredients for livestock feed and pet food, processes more than 3 million broilers a week and operates a feed mill, hatcheries and processing plants. It employs 3,900 people in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma and has annual sales of approximately $600 million. Simmons products can be found in all 50 states and in more than 40 countries.

Todd Simmons said: “We view the University of Arkansas as a great contributor to the future of Arkansas’ economic development and to the future of our company. We need the best qualified candidates and want to do what we can to support academic excellence and the continued positive direction both Bumpers College and the poultry science department have taken. We are excited about the differences the schools are making for the students, industry and the economy.”

Todd Simmons, a third generation leader of Simmons Foods, earned a degree in entrepreneurship in 1994 from Georgetown University. He’s worked for his family’s company since then in various capacities including heading up the sales and marketing unit and serving as the chief operating officer of the Simmons Foods poultry group. He is a member of the Arkansas Executive Forum, Young Presidents Organization and has served on the boards of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas and the Ozark Natural Science Center.

In addition to serving as chairman of Simmons Foods, Mark Simmons is a past chairman of the National Broiler Council. He has also served on the board of directors of Siloam Springs Memorial Hospital, John Brown University and Arkansas State Bank. He has served as president of the Arkansas Poultry Federation, director of the Arkansas State Council on Economic Education and the Poultry and Egg Institute of America. He was honored for his work with the Arkansas Poultry Federation by being named its Man of the Year in 1990.

He is a member of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century Steering Committee and the Bumpers College Campaign committee.

“We would like to thank Mark Simmons and Simmons Foods not just for their generous philanthropy, but also for Mark’s support and leadership in the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century,” said G. David Gearhart, vice chancellor for university advancement.

Mark Simmons and his wife, Diane, who met while earning business degrees at the University of Arkansas, have been married for more than 30 years. They have two children, Todd Simmons and Sarah Simmons Goldstein, who is married to Jeremy Goldstein. Todd Simmons and his wife, Shelly, have a daughter, Caroline.

This gift counts toward the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century and the $300 Million Challenge effort to match a $300 million challenge gift. As of March 31, 2005, the Campaign had raised $895 million toward its $900 million goal. The Challenge total has reached $273 million against its $300 million goal.