Helena-West Helena/Philips County Port Authority, General Counsel & Economic Development Director

John Edwards serves as General Counsel & Economic Development Director for Helena-West Helena/Philips County Port Authority in Helena, Arkansas. He has considerable experience in rural economic development. Mr. Edwards served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2008 – 2015, and previously served as an aide to former United States Senator David Pryor, where he was responsible for working with agricultural related issues. In 1996, he was appointed Arkansas State Director of USDA Rural Development, the lead federal agency providing funding for rural housing, businesses, and water systems. Edwards is a veteran of the Iraq War and was part of a National Guard unit that provided relief to New Orleans residents after Katrina. He left service in 2012 as a Colonel.