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JIMMY PURSELL ACHIEVING A LASTING LEGACY THROUGH OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S CALL By Melanie Bonds, sourced from Finding the Ultimate Multiplier: The Story of Jimmy Pursell by Harold Fickett
Al ab ama Tu rf Tim es > >> Wint er 2020
Mr.
James Taylor Pursell, Sr., “Jimmy,” was born in 1930 in Talladega, Alabama to a family of educators. His father was principal at a local school and his mother a teacher. From these humble beginnings Jimmy began a journey that ultimately ended with success on the widest scale. He and his family have made invaluable contributions to the turfgrass industry in our state, the nation and the world. Jimmy attended Talladega High School where his athletic record was impressive. He could run the 100yard dash in under ten seconds. Unfortunately, playing football in a game against the Sylacauga Aggies in 1947, Jimmy broke his leg. Jimmy’s injury made him a local celebrity. Many well-wishers came to see him in the hospital, and the Sylacauga High School contingent was led by Jim Nabors. Nabors and Jimmy became fast friends. Nabors introduced Jimmy to Chris Parker. Jimmy had enrolled in Auburn University and was majoring in business when they met. They quickly became serious. Jimmy began to think about his future career since he planned to marry Chris. However, the outbreak of the Korean War sealed his immediate plans with a stint in the military. As a college graduate, Jimmy enrolled in the Air Force Cadet Program. Receiving his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1953, he and Chris were finally able to marry. Their first son, James Taylor, Jr., was born while Jimmy was serving his country. Toward the end of his years of military service, Chris’s father, Howard, asked Jimmy to go to work for Parker Fertilizer Company. Started by Howard Parker Senior’s father, the company was formed when cotton was king. Parker was a successful man who led his company to success in volatile times. What set him apart from many others, and a trait that his son-in-law Jimmy Pursell shared, was his foresight. He recognized that the days of cotton’s dominance were coming to an end. Jimmy was given the option of taking over sales for a new line of lawn and garden fertilizers called StaGreen. Sta-Green marketed a slow-release, nitrogenbased product. The margins were huge in lawn and
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garden as compared to agriculture. Jimmy opened up substantial markets throughout the Southeast. Jimmy and Chris had settled well in Sylacauga and began to grow their family. A daughter named Chris was born and their younger son, David, was born in 1959. Sadly, Mr. Parker, Sr. passed away in 1964. In a time when many young people were leaving their hometowns for better opportunities in the city, the Parker and Pursell families were coalescing around the family business in Sylacauga. Mr. Parker directed that Jimmy Pursell was made President of Parker Fertilizer Company. Howard, Jr. was made President of the Sylacauga Bonded Warehouse. Unfortunately, Mr. Parker’s well-thought-out plans came to a tragic end when Howard Parker, Jr. passed away unexpectedly with an aneurysm in the spring of 1966. At this time, Jimmy bought out the company, saying, “If I was going to devote my life to the company, I wanted to be my own boss and do my own thing.” The loss of the Howards, Senior and Junior, was felt deeply, but Jimmy Pursell steadily grew the company while Chris maintained the home front. The Pursell children began working with the company when they were old enough, starting from the “ground up,” literally. In 1973 Jimmy learned about the Tennessee Valley Authority experimenting with a new type of fertilizer, Sulphur Coated Urea (SCU). The opportunity to be one of the first suppliers of the product would catapult the company to a national market share. Testing was successful and when TVA went into production in 1974, Parker Fertilizer bought the first rail car of it.
Jimmy and his wife Chris
