By Casey Chastain
intern@uga.edu
On Nov. 11, the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences inducted former Georgia Rep. Richard Royal and Georgia soybean specialist John Woodruff into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame.
The celebration was part of the college’s alumni awards ceremony and banquet at the Classic Center.
The Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame was established in 1972 to recognize individuals who made extraordinary contributions to agriculture and agribusiness in Georgia.
Inductees are nominated by members of the public and selected by the awards committee of the college’s alumni association. Those nominated must possess impeccable character, outstanding leadership, noteworthy contributions to Georgia’s agricultural landscape and recognition for achievements in agriculture and other areas.
Also at the ceremony, the CAES Award of Excellence was presented to D. Wayne Akins Jr., chief retail banking officer of Synovus Bank; Charles Hubert Bronson Jr., former Florida commissioner of agriculture and consumer services; Beverly Lynn Sparks, former UGA associate dean for Cooperative Extension; and R. Lowry “Whitey” Weyman Hunt Jr., a sixth-generation Morgan County farmer.
Luke Lanier, assistant vice president of Metter Bank; Allison Perkins, UGA Cooperative Extension county agent for Bartow County; and Cliff Riner, coordinator of the Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center, received CAES Young Alumni Achievement Awards.
