We Tip Our Hats to Jim Handley
- membership233
- 13 hours ago
- 5 min read
Today is the day that Jim Handley hangs up his hat as Executive Vice President of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association, a role he has held since 1998. While Jim would not desire a great deal of fanfare over his departure, we feel it is appropriate to share a little bit about the man and his accomplishments thus far as he begins his next chapter.
One of five children born to Dr. Frank and Ruth Handley, and raised in Highlands County, Jim has been immersed in agriculture his entire life. Dr. Handley was a mixed practice veterinarian which lent numerous opportunities for young Jim to work as a ranch hand, carpenter, and veterinary assistant, gaining first-hand knowledge of many South Florida ranches and their stewards. As such, Jim’s journey to one day lead the Florida Cattlemen’s Association was a natural progression.
A football and baseball player at Sebring High School, Jim went on to attend Florida Southern College in Lakeland where he met the love of his life Karen Grant, who would later become his wife. Jim transferred to the University of Florida where he was active with groups like UF Block & Bridle and Alpha Zeta, an honorary, professional fraternity for students in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. He earned an Animal Sciences degree in 1984, and married Karen in December of that same year.
After graduation, Jim began a successful sales career with Purina Mills in central Florida, focusing on beef, dairy, equine, and retail sales. He credits his success to the mentorship of people like the late Don Plagge whom Jim admired greatly. Jim’s career progression led him to Nashville, Tennessee where he worked as a Division Sales Manager for five years before being recruited back to Florida to join the team at the Florida Cattlemen’s Association as Executive Vice President. In that capacity, Jim also served as Chief Executive Officer of the Florida Beef Council, Executive Director and Secretary of the FCA Foundation, and last but not least, Managing Editor of The Florida Cattleman and Livestock Journal, a role that has certainly been influenced by Ruth’s example as an English teacher and Editor herself.
Jim’s personal and leadership style has always been focused on building relationships – not just shaking hands – but building genuine relationships. This has had an immeasurable impact on our Association as the world has become a more complicated space. In 1999, Jim played an integral role in the establishment of the Florida Cattlemen’s Foundation, “dedicated to the history, heritage, and ideals of the Florida cattle producers.” Cattlemen and women can no longer simply provide a quality product – we have to educate the public about the health benefits of beef and our environmental stewardship of the land that Florida cattle call home. The State Ranch Rodeo and Heritage Festival, which ran for 10 years, served as both fundraisers for the Foundation and an educational platform for the public. Jim’s belief in events like the Ranch Rodeo and the Florida Beef Council’s participation at NASCAR’s Daytona 500 weekend brought visibility to thousands of consumers and yet another opportunity to educate them on the benefits of beef.
Sam Ard, FCA Director of Governmental Affairs, shared “Jim and I were both recruited by past FCA Presidents Bert Tucker and Marty Smith. I started just 3 months before Jim, and we have worked well together for 27 years. His charisma is unmatched - he can speak to any group or individual in a genuine way that builds trust and has been incredibly beneficial to the cause of our organization. He will be greatly missed at the Association.”
Jim would be the first to point out that no one works alone, but during his tenure, and under his leadership, our Association has accomplished many goals. Fundraising has become an increasingly important aspect of maintaining a healthy and impactful association, and Jim has been at the crux of it by establishing and maintaining positive relationships with individuals, businesses and other organizations at local, state, and national levels. He led the charge to organize and hold a Bull Sale at the annual FCA Convention and Al\lied Trade Show to raise funds to pay for a new administrative office building in Kissimmee. Once that project was complete, Bull Sale funds were redirected to the Florida COW PAC which supports legislative issues important to Florida’s cattle producers. Both the Convention and Bull Sale require countless hours of planning and execution on the part of dedicated staff and volunteers in order to continue their success.
Getting youth interested and involved in agriculture is also a passion for Jim. This led to the idea of holding a youth dance at the annual Convention. According to Sam, whose children are now in their 30s, “they all brag on those dances. They met friends there that they’ve kept for 20 years.” Our Convention is truly a family affair that is enjoyed by FCA members, guests, and vendors.
Jim has served on several volunteer Boards during his career: the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching (CARET); Florida 4-H Foundation; Florida Ag Hall of Fame; and the Florida Agriculture Council, just to name a few. He has garnered more awards than he would want to mention, and in 2024, he was surprised and honored with the establishment of The Jim Handley Endowed Professorship of Beef Sciences at the University of Florida. Among the reasons cited for the endowment’s namesake was the fact that Jim “cares deeply about the future of the Florida Cattle Industry, the people involved in it, and quality of work/education coming out of our state’s flagship land grant university.”
According to current FCA President Dale Carlton, “Mr. Handley is one of the most respected and highly regarded executives in our country. More important than that, he is an even better man. One of the most selfless people I know. It has been a privilege and huge blessing for me to have the opportunity to watch him lead our association and us volunteer leaders in the ‘behind the scenes’ manner that he does. He has been quite the mentor and leader to us all and will be deeply missed, although I couldn’t be any happier for him and his next chapter. We can’t thank him enough for leaving everything he had on the field for our association and industry.”
After countless miles and late nights serving our industry, Jim looks forward to enjoying his free time, including spending more time with his family: Karen, his wife of 40 years; son Grant, his wife Rebecca and their two children; and daughter Caroline, her husband Justin and their three children.
There is so much more that we could share about Jim Handley and the positive impact he has had on our Association and those involved with it. From your many dear friends in the Florida Cattlemen’s Association, your role as a leader will be dearly missed, yet we know your life-long friendship will always be just a phone call away. But for now, let us just say, “Thank you, Jim. We appreciate you and wish you the best.”
