Jim Prewitt, a long-serving member of Texas Tech University's College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources Advisory Board (2013-2018), passed away on Saturday (Apr. 10) due to complications of COVID-19. He was 80. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday (Apr. 19) at South Garland Baptist Church in Garland, Texas

Prewitt, founder of Landmark Nurseries in the early 1980s, transitioned from providing landscaping services for commercial and residential customers to opening the first of his wholesale nurseries in Garland, Texas. Landmark Nurseries has evolved into one of the largest wholesale grower/distributors in Texas.

In 2013, Prewitt was selected to receive CASNR's Gerald W. Thomas Outstanding Agriculturalist Award for Agribusiness. He was also a strong supporter of the CASNR Congressional Internship Program and served on the college's groundbreaking Matador Institute of Leadership Engagement (MILE) Program Advisory Committee.

Prewitt was the recipient of the MILE program's ‘Excellence in Leadership Award' in 2019 for his support in getting initiative started. As a member of the MILE Advisory Committee, he fully backed the program for undergraduate students in CASNR that seeks to develop participants' personal and professional skills while exposing them to the key issues affecting local, state, and national agriculture and policy. 

“I will be forever grateful to Mr. Prewitt for the impact he made on the MILE Program,” said Lindsay Kennedy, an assistant professor of practice within Tech's Department of Agricultural Education and Communications. “He believed in the MILE Program from day one and was instrumental in making the program's high-impact learning experiences possible for our students.”

“His commitment and investment in agricultural leadership development can be felt throughout the state of Texas, and he made such an incredible impact on the ag industry as a result,” she said. “He was a pillar in our industry, and his legacy will continue in the lives of our CASNR MILE students.” 

MILE is designed to provide participants with a competitive edge when seeking career opportunities after graduation. Each MILE cohort will take place over three semesters and include 14 selected students representing the six CASNR academic departments.

In the past, Prewitt served on the Happy Hill Farm board of directors, Texas A&M College of Agriculture Development Council, State Fair of Texas Board, Texas Nursery and Landscape Association and the Texas Water Smart Steering Committee. He is a founding member and chair of the Floriculture Advisory Committee at Texas A&M, and a member of the American Nursery & Landscape Association, Ohio Florist Association and Southern Nurseryman Association. 

In addition, he was a supporter of the Dallas Summer Musicals organization, Fort Worth Livestock Show and Rodeo Auction, National Association of Agricultural Educators, Texas A&M Congressional Intern Program and San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo. Prewitt served as president of the Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership (TALL) Foundation, and on the National FFA Sponsors Boards, Texas FFA Foundation and was founder of the Texas Agricultural Science Leadership Institute.

CONTACT: Cindy Akers, Associate Dean for Academic and Student Programs, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2808 or cindy.akers@ttu.edu

0414NM21 / Editor's Note: Memorial gifts can be made to the Texas Tech Foundation, Inc., Jim Prewitt Memorial Fund for the MILE (Matador Institute for Leadership Engagement) Program in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and mailed to Texas Tech University, Box 45025, Lubbock, TX 79409, or given online here