By James Bennett, The Daily Herald

When Lacy Upchurch was fired up about someone or some issue as he left home for his Tennessee Farm Bureau office, his wife of 52 years, Kay, would remind him, “Now be nice!”

Upchurch retires next week after 10 years as president of the Columbia-based company with 644,000 members and offices in all 95 Tennessee counties. He says his wife’s gentle reminder stuck with him as Farm Bureau worked to remain the leading advocate for farmers and farming communities.

Upchurch, 69, and his wife came to Columbia from their Cumberland County farm outside Crossville after he was elected president in 2005. He swapped his blue jeans for a shirt and tie.

The Farm Bureau’s president has to be a full-time farmer under the company rules, with Upchurch moving into the top job after being vice president of the organization.

“It was a wonderful investment of my time to serve Farm Bureau,” Upchurch said. “I was very familiar with the Farm Bureau and its mission, of course, and I wanted to continue excellence in service. I wanted to continue our growth so we can be an even stronger advocate for farmers.”

Farm Bureau grew by 38,000 members during Upchurch’s tenure. It remains the largest Farm Bureau in the country, offering services ranging from insurance to rural health development, with net assets of $77 million in 2014.

The Upchurches have three children (one son and two daughters) and seven grandchildren. Their son is running the farm in Cumberland County.

“I wasn’t complete sure I wanted to trade my feed bucket for a brief case,” Upchurch said. “But Kay and I couldn’t have asked for more than we got from this community. This has been a wonderful experience. People in Columbia, and across Tennessee, are very friendly and neighborly.”

Upchurch likely will be replaced by Farm Bureau Vice President Jeff Aiken of Washington County, who is running unopposed for the presidency, at Tuesday’s annual meeting in Franklin. Upchurch will continue to serve on First Farmers & Merchants Bank’s board of directors until he turns 70 in April.

When he returns to the farm, Upchurch looks forward to being involved in his church, Homestead Methodist in Cumberland County, and gardening.

“I tell people I garden mostly for therapy,” Upchurch said. “I promised my wife I would be her yard man when we get back home. She said, ‘Be careful what you tell people.’ She’s going to insist the yard look much better.

“Sometimes I can be a very emotional person, and I have to calm my nerves a little bit,” he added. “But I am looking forward to a nice retirement.”

Notice that he remembered the word “nice.”

READ ENTIRE STORY HERE AT COLUMBIA DAILY HERALD