Commission

Jeff Rutledge, of Newport, represents the White River and his term expires in 2024. Commissioner Rutledge, a native of Newport, graduated from Newport High School and earned a B.S. in Plant Science from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro and a Masters in Agronomy (Weed Science) from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Commissioner Rutledge has been farming full time since 1999 in Newport along the White River producing rice, wheat, corn, soybeans and milo. Commissioner Rutledge serves on the Newport School Board, Levee Commission, several industry organizations, and is President of the White River Coalition.

Marty Shell, of Fort Smith, represents the Arkansas River and his term expires in 2025. As a second-generation port terminal operator, Commissioner Shell has been employed by Five Rivers Distribution for the past 24 years being able to work with his father Buck Shell, the founder of Five Rivers Distribution for 15 of those years. Commissioner Shell is active with both the Fort Smith and Van Buren Chambers of Commerce, serves as a Civil Service Commissioner for the City of Fort Smith Police and Fire departments, and is a former President and current member of Arkansas Oklahoma Port Operators Association. Commissioner Shell and his wife Shannon have been married for 20 years and have three children, Mackenzie, Avery, and Nathan Shell.

Phyllis Harden, of Hensley, serves at-large and her term expires in 2026. Commissioner Harden is primarily responsible for Legislative and Special Projects for Pine Bluff Sand and Gravel Company. She began her career with Pine Bluff in 1981. Commissioner Harden was instrumental in the initiation of Pine Bluff’s most successful Safety Program, which dramatically reduced injury and illness to the company’s highly productive people. She is frequently in Washington, DC lobbying for The Corps of Engineers waterway projects and funding. Phyllis is on the Board of Directors and a Past-President of the Mississippi Valley Associated General Contractors, which is the largest geographical Branch of the Associated General Contractors of America and represents contractors on the river system from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Dredging Contractors of America, Washington, D.C., and is on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the National Waterways Conference, Washington, DC. Locally, Commissioner Harden is Vice-Chairman of the Pine Bluff-Jefferson County Port Authority Board. She was the first female commission member, and on June 23rd, 2020, she became the first female Arkansas Waterways Commission Chair.

Sherrel Johnson, of El Dorado, represents the Ouachita River and her term expires in 2027. Commissioner Johnson is so closely associated with Union County Sparta Aquifer Recovery that if people can’t recall her name, they refer to her as the “water woman” or “that Sparta woman”, a moniker she readily accepts. Commissioner Johnson first dedicated herself to Sparta aquifer recovery in 1997, following the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission’s (ANRC) 1996 designation of Union and four contiguous South Arkansas counties as the state’s first Critical Groundwater Area. Commissioner Johnson earned her B.A. in political science at Southern Arkansas University – Magnolia, and her A.A. from South Arkansas Community College in El Dorado. Her husband Ben is an Arkansas historian, author, and recently retired history professor who held the John G. Ragsdale Endowed Chair in Arkansas Studies at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia.

The commission appointment representing The Mississippi River is currently vacant with a term that expires in 2028.

Mike Lowe, of Texarkana, represents the Red River and his term expires in 2029. Commissioner Lowe is a third-generation farmer, farming land adjoining the Red River. Commissioner Lowe serves on several levee and drainage districts in his area, including the Arkansas Levee Task Force, and was a member of the Arkansas Farm Service Agency State Committee. Commissioner Lowe and his wife Diana have one daughter and two grandsons.

Matthew King

At-Large/Economist

Matthew King, of Little Rock, serves at-large/as economist and his term expires 2023. Commissioner King is the Senior Vice President, Administration and Advocacy with the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation. He has a degree in agribusiness from Arkansas State University and a Masters in Agricultural Economics from the University of Arkansas. Commissioner King is a member of the University of Arkansas College of Agriculture Deans Advisory Board and serves as administrator for the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board. Prior to coming to Farm Bureau, Commissioner King was an economist with the USDA Foreign Agriculture Service in Washington, D.C.