Les Tindal was a Clemson trustee and agriculture leader

Clemson University learned of the loss of one of its emeritus trustees, Les Tindal of Pinewood. Tindal was a Clemson trustee from 1973 to 1982, when he resigned to become commissioner of agriculture for South Carolina. He held that post until he retired in 2002.  When Tindal left the Clemson board, the trustees approved a resolution naming him a trustee emeritus and honored him for his service to the university and “his contributions to the growth and progress of the state’s agri-business industry [that] are widely known and respected, especially his leadership in bringing soybeans to prominence as a crop for South Carolina and export commodity for the United States.” Born in 1928 on a farm in Clarendon County, he grew cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat on a 2,600-acre farm and raised approximately 1,400 hogs and 1,000 beef cattle. Tindal served two terms as president of the American Soybean Association.