Biography of Dan Ford
Dan Ford, a native of Cocke County was born to Ida and Cebo Ford, a teacher and farmer in the Grassy Fork community of Hartford, TN. There he learned the importance of family, faith, education, and hard work and there began his enjoyment of coon hunting, fly fishing, and bird hunting--he's owned some pretty good bird dogs!
He attended Cosby High School before being enrolled at Warren Wilson High School, a Christian preparatory high school in Asheville, NC. He attended Belmont College in Nashville for two years until he married and began a family of three sons, Daniel, Eddie, and Barry.
He is a charter member of Newport's Grace Baptist Church which began in 1977
in his basement. Dan's passion is for Christian missionaries around the world 
and he supports several of them through the Church's mission ministry. He has served on the Board of Education for Grace Christian School for the past 20 years.
Dan has been married to the former Patricia French of Jefferson County for the past 21 years. They live on a farm where they raise hay for their horses in the Denton community of Cosby. They are blessed to have much family living close by such as the three grandsons and his 91 year old mother. Dan and Pat enjoy camping, hiking and horseback riding in the mountains.
A successful salesman and entrepreneur, Dan began Ford Sales Company, a sales representative agency to the lawn and garden industry, in 1981. He was an associate member of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute where he served on the Technical 
Advisory Committee. In 1986 Dan started his company AeroPro LLC, a manufacturer primarily for the heavy-duty trucking industry. This company uses recycled material from scrap tires thus keeping tires out of the landfills. He is CEO there as well as CEO of Eagle Plastics and Rubber which he began in 2003 to recycle unusable rubber bought from companies that manufacture tires. These two companies located in Cocke County employ approximately 50 people.
Due to his interest in the workforce of Cocke County, Dan is a member of the Local Workforce Investment Board for Area 2 which works in conjunction with Walters State Community College for Tennessee's statewide Career Center System to provide workforce development and career services based on local needs.
As chairman for the Cocke County Republican Party for the past three years, he has diligently strived to get conservative Republicans elected. He is also an associate member of the Cocke County Republican Women Club and a co-chairman of the Community Service Committee of the Newport Kiwanis Club. Other memberships include Right to Life and the National Rifle Association of America.