Thomas Smith Honored With Oscar Johnston Lifetime Achievement Award

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Thomas Smith, a former president and chairman of the board, of the National Cotton Council, received the Oscar Johnston Lifetime Achievement Award for 2024. He was honored at the National Cotton Council’s (NCC) 2025 annual meeting held February 14-16 in Dallas, Texas, with outgoing NCC Chairman Joe Nicosia presenting the award.

The annual award, established in 1997, is named for Oscar Johnston, whose vision, genius and tireless efforts were foremost in the shaping and organization of the NCC. The award is presented to an individual who serves the cotton industry, through the NCC, over a significant period of his or her active business career. The award also recognizes those who exert a positive influence on the industry and who demonstrate character and integrity as well as perseverance and maturation during that service.

Smith's extensive service to the NCC included serving on multiple Council program committees including Industry Practices and Policies, Foreign Operations, and Farm Program and Economic Policy. He was elected vice president in 1985 and later became president in 1996. In 1997, he was elected chairman of the board and subsequently served as an advisor to the board.

Smith excelled in academics and sports in his high school class of nine students. He attended Texas A&M and graduated in 1957 with a degree in agricultural economics. With strong recommendations from professors, he interviewed and obtained a job at Calcot upon graduation. After moving to Bakersfield as a 22-year-old who had never been outside Texas, he advanced through the corporation, working in every aspect of the business. In 1977, Smith became President of Calcot, the largest cotton marketing organization in the Western U.S., at the age of 42. Over his career, he worked for the grower-owned cooperative for forty-five years and was President and CEO for twenty-five years before retiring in 2002. 

Appointed by two secretaries of agriculture, Smith served on the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee and was inducted into the Cotton Hall of Fame. During an era when cotton was the single largest crop in the San Joaquin Valley and Arizona, he led a sales team that marketed millions of bales, exporting the majority to textile mills worldwide. He tirelessly represented the interests of western cotton growers in Washington, D.C., New York, and throughout the industry.

Smith’s expertise and counsel were sought by many organizations. He served for nearly 40 years as a board member and chairman of the Bakersfield Memorial Hospital board of directors, chairman of the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, and was a graduate fellow of the California Agricultural Leadership Program. Texas A&M honored him with the Outstanding Alumni Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He was also a longtime member of the Downtown Bakersfield Rotary Club and numerous other community organizations.

Thomas Smith passed away on December 1, 2023, at the age of 88. His legacy of leadership, dedication, and service will continue to inspire the cotton industry and the many communities he touched.