New TWHBEA director understands rural lifestyle

Born and raised in Portland, Tenn., Stan Butt is familiar with the rural life. The new executive director for the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders' and Exhibitors' Association not only lived around an agricultural lifestyle, he came to write about it.

While in college on Cookeville, he worked part-time at a local TWH stable, caring for about 40 broodmares and, when he was lucky, getting to go to The Celebration.

After graduating from Tennessee Tech with a degree in wildlife management, he went on to work for the Boys Scouts of America as a district representative. While still with the BSA, he also completed training at the National Executive Institute in New jersey and took motivational training.

He also, for four years, owned his own car dealership during that time.

Butt became the editor for Southern Beef Producer and traveled throughout the Southeast. He then became the publisher and editor of the Southern Cattlemen's Association's magazine from 1987-1992.

After a return to the car dealership business, Butt became the editor of The Voice in 2004, and while he is no longer technically the editor of the TWHBEA official publication, he still oversees it.

Publishing is a strong presence in his life -- his wife of 36 years, Sheila, has written several motivational and inspirational books through their own publishing company, Heartwise Press.

They have three sons: Stan Jr., a preacher at the Church of Christ of Chapel Hill, who has two children of his own; Cliff, a specialty logger and youth minister with four children at Eastside Church of Christ in Columbia; and Kyle, director of biblical research for Apologetics Press in Montgomery, Ala., who also has two children.