The Georgia Cotton Commission’s Trustees’ Awards were presented at the 2024 Georgia Cotton Commission Annual Meeting January 31 in Tifton. The Trustees’ Awards are awarded to individuals who have dedicated themselves to the advancement of the cotton industry in Georgia. Producers, research and extension specialists and other cotton industry associates of high character and integrity who have given exceptional service to the cotton industry are eligible to receive this award.
The award was named after the Georgia Colonial Trustees who set out to create an agricultural colony to expedite agriculture productivity, which led to a ten acre “Trustee Garden” to display “modern” farming techniques. The Trustee Garden was established in 1734 in Savannah, Georgia. Many crops were experimented with that first year, but cotton was the crop that thrived and has been planted in Georgia every year since. Previous winners of the Trustees’ Awards include Louie Perry and Mike Lucas.
The recipients of this year’s Trustees’ Awards are Bob McLendon, Ronnie Lee and Chuck Coley.
Bob McLendon started farming in Calhoun County since 1974 and currently produces cotton, peanuts and corn outside of Leary. McLendon earned as associate degree from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and is a 1963 graduate of the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Barbara, raised four daughters and have nine grandchildren.
Throughout his career, McLendon has been and remains extremely active with numerous agricultural organizations. He has served as chairman of the National Cotton Council, president of Southern Cotton Growers and the Calhoun County Farm Bureau, and a board member of his local FSA committee, Cotton Incorporated and countless other industry organizations. He has been president of Edison Gin Co-op and Sunshine Warehouse of Arlington, as well as many other agribusinesses that compliment his farming operation. He has also served on the ABAC and Darton…
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