Robert S. Bloxom, a longtime Virginia Baptist lay leader, has been named the state's first secretary of agriculture and forestry by Gov. Mark Warner.
If confirmed by the General Assembly, Bloxom will be the first to hold the cabinet-level post recently created by the governor.
Bloxom, a 67-year-old Republican, represented the Eastern Shore in the House of Delegates from 1978 until he retired last year. Farmers in his former legislative district raise 80 precent of the state's commercially grown vegetables.
Bloxom and his wife, Pat, are members of Mappsville Baptist Church in Mappsville, where he is head of Bloxom Auto Supply Co.
He is a former trustee of the Religous Herald. Pat Bloxom recently completed one term as president of Woman's Missionary Union of Virginia.
Although he is joining a Democratic administration, Bloxom said he still considers himself a Republican. Warner, he said, has been an inclusive governor.
Staff report