Dunkley, Malcolm Louis

In Memory of Malcolm Louis Dunkley (January 11, 1945 - July 11, 2001)

"Mac" Dunkley (born January 1945) was one of three sons born to Cleo and Eliza Wiley Dunkley, a tobacco growing family of Roxboro, NC. After graduating from Roxboro High School, he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy from N.C. State University in 1967 and later did graduate work at the University of Missouri. On August 17, 1968, he married the former Barbara Chapman. Together they had two sons Craig Louis (b. 1971) and William Scott (b. 1974), and a grandson by his son Craig, Reagan Louis Dunkley.

After completing his education, Mac worked for Central Carolina Farmers, Inc. and later FCX, posts where he became familiar with agricultural issues and came to know the farming community. He then became director of the Bright Belt Warehouse Association in 1983. The warehouse association represents auction warehouses from Florida to Virginia. As director of the Bright Belt Warehouse Association, he emerged as a pillar in the tobacco industry, earning Brown and Williamson Tobacco Company's Liberty Award for his contribution to the industry. He represented warehouses in legal and policy matters, and on a variety of boards and commissions. These included the Board of Directors for the Tobacco Associates, the Five State Flue-Cured Group, the National Tobacco Council, N.C. Tobacco Foundation, and the Tobacco Research Commission. Mac was also concerned about preserving the state's agricultural heritage, serving on the Board of Directors for the Duke Homestead State Historic Site and the Board of Advisors for the Tobacco Farm Life Museum.

Mac helped implement a standardized system for distributing and repairing the burlap sheets that were for many years the primary handling package for tobacco. During his tenure Mac also led the warehouse association through the late 1990s, when the industry switched from selling tobacco loose in sheets to selling it in compressed bales, and when significant quota cuts that reduced the amount of tobacco sold each year posed a serious challenge to warehouse operators. At the time of his death, Mac was actively working to preserve a continued role for auction warehouses as an alternative to direct contracts between grower and buyer.

A resident of Bahama, NC, Mac selflessly gave himself to community affairs. He was a longtime member of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church where he taught Sunday school, chaired the Staff Parish Relations Committee, and served on the Administrative Council. He was a member of the Bahama Ruritan Club and was club treasurer. Additionally, he was a board member for the Bahama Fire and Rescue Squad.

A man of many interests and talents Mac enjoyed woodworking, fishing, and boating. Mac's main interest, however, was always his family. The close-knit family frequently camped and vacationed together. He was always very proud of his two sons and loved hunting, fishing, and boating with them and they shared a common love of sports. Though he was very successful in his career endeavors, he was best known for his integrity in both business and community. Whether in public or private, anyone working with Mac Dunkley could expect to be treated with respect and honesty.

This page given by the Coastal Plains Auction Warehouse Association, Liberty Tobacco Warehouse, and Mrs. Grethel Boyette.