Georgia Farm Bureau (GFB) recognized the best of the organization’s volunteers and county chapters during its 82nd annual convention on Jekyll Island. The state award winners were honored for the programs they completed this past year to promote agriculture.

“Volunteer members are the lifeblood of our organization. They do a lot, from reading to students at local schools to attending county commission meetings and visiting with elected officials at all levels,” GFB President Gerald Long said. “Our volunteers drive GFB forward, promoting agriculture in a wide variety of ways. None of Farm Bureau’s work on behalf of Georgia farmers would be possible without a large and committed network of volunteers. We’re extremely proud of the work all of them do on our behalf, and we congratulate the individual award winners, county volunteers and staff who received state awards.”

GFB named a McKemie Award winner - the highest honor given to a county Farm Bureau in recognition of its overall member programs - from each of its three membership categories. Bacon County Farm Bureau, whose president is David Lee, received the McKemie Award for the small membership category. Polk County Farm Bureau, whose president is James Casey, won the McKemie Award for the medium membership category. Franklin County Farm Bureau, whose president is Michael Thomason, received the award in the large membership category. The McKemie Award is a memorial to former GFB President W.J. McKemie.

Finalists for the McKemie competition, listed alphabetically, in the small membership category were: Crawford, Heard, Jasper, Macon, Treutlen, Turner and Upson counties. Finalists in the medium membership category were: Berrien, Decatur, Greene, Jeff Davis, Pike, Screven, Stephens, Toombs and Troup counties. Finalists in the large membership category were: Banks, Cherokee, Cobb, Coffee, Habersham, Henry, Paulding, Newton and Walker counties. 

Other state awards presented were the: Outstanding Promotion & Education Award received by Franklin County Farm Bureau; Outstanding Women’s Leadership Committee Award received by Franklin County Farm Bureau; Outstanding Legislative Committee Award received by Mitchell County Farm Bureau; and Outstanding Young Farmer Committee Award received by Polk County Farm Bureau.  

Staci Waters, the Barrow County Farm Bureau (BCFB) office manager, received the organization’s Outstanding Office Manager Award. Waters, who has been employed with BCFB since 2013, was recognized for the work she has done to promote agriculture and Farm Bureau in her local community. Waters is responsible for coordinating BCFB’s agricultural advocacy and Ag in the Classroom activities throughout the year.

Diana Cole, an elementary teacher in Barrow County, received GFB’s Georgia Agriculture in the Classroom 2019 Teacher of the Year Award.  Cole, who teaches second through fourth grades at Statham Elementary School, was recognized for incorporating information about agriculture into her reading, writing, math, science and social studies lessons to teach her students how agriculture impacts their daily lives. She received a $500 award and an expense-paid trip to the National Ag in the Classroom Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, in June 2020.

Jeff Lamb of Turner County won the 2019 GFB Quality Hay Contest, which was open to any Georgia Farm Bureau member who produces Bermudagrass hay. Samples of hay entered in the contest were tested at the University of Georgia Testing Lab using the Relative Forage Quality (RFQ) Test, which predicts fiber digestibility and the likeliness livestock will eat the hay. Lamb’s winning Russell hay had an RFQ rating of 155.57.  He won the free use of a Vermeer TM1200 Trailed Mower for one year courtesy of the Vermeer Manufacturing Company with the option to purchase the mower at a reduced price at the end of the year.

GFB also recognized its Young Farmers & Ranchers competitive event winners, who were announced during the YF&R Summer Leadership Conference in July. The YF&R winners are: Preston and Kendall Jimmerson of Colquitt County, who won the GFB 2019 YF&R Achievement Award; Rachel and Jason Kinsaul of Morgan County who are the 2019 GFB YF&R Excellence in Agriculture Award recipients; Kaitlyn Marchant of Morgan County who won the 2019 YF&R Discussion Meet; and Walt Pridgen of Coffee County who was voted the GFB YF&R Member of the Year.

Founded in 1937, the Georgia Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general farm organization with 158 county chapters. As a membership-driven, nongovernmental organization, GFB serves as the voice of Georgia farmers and rural Georgia by advocating for them on legislative issues and promoting Georgia commodities. Its volunteer members actively participate in activities that promote agriculture awareness.

GFB membership is open to the public and offers a wide variety of benefits, including insurance and discounts for health services, travel and family entertainment. Enrollment in any of the member benefits is optional and not a requirement for membership.