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Distinguished Professional Award Winners

Emily Howard, a Legislative Director in the office of Congressman Jack Kingston in Washington, D.C., was presented the 2005 J.W. Fanning Distinguished Young Professional Award for significant accomplishments. Emily’s work focuses on agriculture, natural resources, trade, and immigration issues. She is responsible for all member committee work for the Agriculture Appropriation Subcommittee, including preparations for hearings and working closely with subcommittee staff. She also manages appropriations requests for Agriculture, Interior, and Housing and Urban Development Committees.

After growing up on a dairy farm in Morgan County, Emily considers adjusting to life in Washington, D.C. to be quite an accomplishment. She has spent almost three years on Congressman Kingston’s legislative staff, and during that time, she has had the opportunity to actively work on many agricultural issues that are important to Georgia farmers and the state’s economy. Knowing that the work she is doing is benefitting an industry “so near to her heart” gives her a great feeling of accomplishment.

Emily received a B.S.A. in Agribusiness from the University of Georgia in 2002. She enjoyed a rich, full college career as a member of the AGHON Honor Society, Alpha Zeta – Agriculture Honor Fraternity, and Brass Gavel Leadership Society. She was selected as the 2002-2003 Pandora Yearbook Outstanding Senior Leader, and a Leadership UGA participant. Emily also received the Block and Bridle Workhorse Award. Her leadership abilities were called upon as she served as a representative, president, and treasurer of the Ag Hill Council, president of the Agricultural and Environmental Economics Club and vice-president for Agribusiness majors, Ticket Chairman for the Great Southland Stampede Rodeo, and Social Chair of the Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority. She was a member of Collegiate 4-H and the UGA Cattlemen’s Association, and she was chosen as the Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity Sweetheart.

Participation in various organizations on campus and leadership roles in several of them have contributed positively to Emily’s professional career. By being involved in these college organizations, she met agriculture industry leaders who she still calls upon today for assistance and advice. Through her involvement in these organizations, Emily learned how to meet new people, and interviewing, public speaking and organizational skills. One of the requirements for her major was that she complete an internship. Emily spent a summer before graduation in Washington, interning in Congressman Kingston’s Office. This experience confirmed her career goals and opened the door for her current position.

Since Emily grew up in a small town, Athens was overwhelming to her at first; but she made an effort to join several organizations on South Campus so that she could meet new people. After this, the college didn’t seem quite so large to her. Emily advocates the idea that there is more to college than just classes. She believes students will gain much more from their college experiences by getting involved in a number of activities that are available. She offers this advice for current students, “Get involved. Take advantage of the smaller class sizes and the access you have to professors and administrators in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. There are a lot of great folks who work in Conner Hall, and they can be of enormous assistance if you let them. In addition, I would recommend taking a class that allows you to travel abroad. I was able to take a Maymester class with Dr. Ames and Dr. Houston, and we spent a couple of weeks in Xalapa, Mexico learning about international agriculture. Agriculture and trade go hand-in-hand, and that experience has helped me do my job, as Congress considers trade agreements with an impact on agriculture.”

Emily is still a “Georgia girl” at heart, and although she lives in a city full of historical monuments and museums where there is always something to do, her favorite way to spend leisure time is to “get back to Georgia!” Whether it is attending a football game or just a weekend visit with her family, Emily treasures any opportunity to “make it back down South.”

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William David Bennett

William David Bennett, Executive Director of the Georgia Soil & Water Conservation Commission (GASWCC), received the 2005 J.W. Fanning Distinguished Professional Award for his leadership in conservation. Appointed to the Executive Director position by Governor Sonny Perdue in 2003, Mr. Bennett develops and implements conservation programs across Georgia, coordinates the water conservation districts, and provides educational programs on the conservation of soil and water resources.

Mr. Bennett attended Middle Georgia College in Cochran, Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.S. in Agriculture in 1974. After college graduation, he began his career with the GASWCC in 1974 as a Field Representative, where he worked to establish the Commission’s first Southeast Georgia Regional office. He was transferred to the Central Georgia office in 1979, and his outstanding work led to his promotion as leader of the Commission’s Statesboro and Milledgeville Regional offices. Mr. Bennett supervised employees, directed and led soil and water supervisors from several counties and was able to obtain close cooperation with city, county, state and national officials. His innovative ideas were adopted by other areas all over the state, and he continued providing leadership in these areas until accepting the position of Deputy Executive Director in 1999.

After securing funding for high priority conservation projects, Mr. Bennett utilized those funds for conservation efforts. Over the years, he has worked closely with other organizations facilitating, managing and overseeing numerous habitat improvement projects, including wetlands restoration, riparian, and in-stream restoration, and demonstration projects on public school lands. Due to his efforts, the state has received two congressional earmarks of funds since 2003 totaling $1,000,000 for stream restoration work through the Partners Program.

Advocating the belief that water policies should be formulated by those affected by and that ultimately must live with such policies, the Commission, through Mr. Bennett’s leadership, has developed voluntary partnerships with landowners and local, state, and federal governmental entities. This partnership plan has yielded impressive conservation and the wise use of the soil and water resources within the state. His approach is to meet the Commission’s objectives programmatically through education and information, technical assistance, cost-sharing and incentives, land use planning, and hands-on oversight of locally led soil and water conservation districts. He is dedicated to continuing to help farmers make the most of their soil and water resources with the Agricultural Water Use Measurement Program. Complementing, not regulating, smart irrigation methods on the farm is Mr. Bennett’s goal as he and the Commission continue to partner with farmers through this program. Through programs in water resources and land use planning, Mr. Bennett works to improve and protect Georgia’s agricultural and urban water resources through the use of strategic management practices. He hopes to reduce the presence of soil erosion and other non-point source pollutants from agriculture and reduce soil erosion on urban lands.

Mr. Bennett developed a leadership process in the local conservation districts which resulted in the districts taking a more proactive role in addressing natural resource concerns throughout the state. He helped secure in excess of $5 million annually over the past 4 years from the federal government to address the state’s water quality and quantity issues, and he empowered the conservation districts to distribute these funds to hundreds of producers throughout South Georgia. These producers constructed approximately 300 reservoirs to store water to avoid depletion of the underground aquifers and modified their existing irrigation systems to be more efficient, saving thousands of gallons of water annually.

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Wilbur C. Mull

Wilbur C. Mull received the 2005 J.W. Fanning Distinguished Professional Award for his many accomplishments. He is owner and operator of three thriving businesses – Classic Groundcovers, Inc., Classic Auction Co., and Classic Realty and Auction Company. As corporate president and owner of Classic Groundcovers, Inc., Wilbur has developed the business into the largest wholesale nursery in the country specializing exclusively in groundcovers, with annual gross sales of almost $4 million. Currently, Classic Groundcovers distributes nationwide and exhibits throughout the year at approximately 20 trade shows and field days across the country. By combining an aggressive and unique marketing strategy with “Sudden Service” and a quality product, Classic Groundcovers has built a solid business during its forty-year history.

Wilbur conducted some auctions while in high school and college to help pay for his education. In 1980 he attended the Missouri Auction School and has been a professional auctioneer ever since. He is the lead auctioneer for Classic Realty & Auction Co., Inc., which handles auctions for personal property, business, liquidation, real estate, and fund raising. Aside from this “business” venture, Wilbur uses his auctioneering skills to help a wide range of non-profit organizations raise money.

Wilbur received a B.S. in Agricultural Economics in 1963 and an M.S. in Agricultural Economics in 1965. He completed all but the dissertation for his Ph.D. in Marketing and was on staff at UGA while working on his degree and taught marketing. Wilbur has used his marketing skills to become an undisputed success in his various business pursuits. He affirms that the most important lessons he has learned in life are patience, consistency, honesty, and ‘The Golden Rule.”

He was a leader in the creation of Georgia Green Industry, an affiliation of related agribusinesses. He is active in civic organizations and has received numerous recognitions and awards, including the David Laird Memorial Award as Outstanding Young Nurseryman in the Southeast in 1976, and the Slater Wight Memorial Award in 1993, the most distinguished award given by the industry. In 1999, he received the Athens Area Small Business Person of the Year Award and the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Alumni Association Award of Excellence. In 2003, Wilbur was presented the Jake Tinga Distinguished Professional of the Year Award. In 2004, he was honored as one of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity’s Brothers of the Century.

Wilbur and his wife, Susan, have a twenty-one-year-old son, Casey, who is now in his fourth year at Wake Forest University, and an eighteen-year-old daughter, Shellie, who is studying to become a registered nurse at Atlantic University in Savannah. He is a member and deacon of the First Christian Church in Athens.

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Alumni News

Patrick D. McPherson is a Product Distribution Coordinator for the AGCO Corporation in Duluth, Georgia. His product line includes Hesston, New Idea, and Massey Ferguson hay tools. It is his responsibility to assist dealers with inventory management, ensure customer satisfaction, and assist local and regional territory managers.

Patrick received a B.S.A. in Agribusiness in 2001 and an M.S. in Agricultural Economics in 2004, both from the University of Georgia. While in College, he was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity, the Graduate Student Association, and College Republicans. He was on the Dean’s List, a recipient of the Georgia Farm Credit Scholarship and had a journal article on his thesis topic published in the Journal of Food Distribution Research.

Working a part-time job throughout his college career has been beneficial to Patrick’s professional career. The job gave him experience in time-management and a sense of responsibility. He offers this advice for current students in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics: “Network with those in the industry you want to pursue. The knowledge you obtain while in school will ultimately get you the job you want. The more contacts you have will give you a leg up on your competition.”

Patrick lives in Atlanta and enjoys most outdoor activities, including, golf, hunting, hiking, and softball; however, he is “not a big fan” of running.

Staff News

Karina Koppius, an administrative associate I, works for the faculty in suites 312 and 314 of Conner Hall. Previously, she worked for the Early Head Start Program in Clarke County. Before moving to Athens three years ago, Karina lived in Mexico and worked for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) as a communications officer and as a general administrator and program officer for PACEPIC, AC, a United Nations funded program providing micro-credit for the rural Guatemalan refugee population.

While living in Mexico, Karina did volunteer work for a State protected reservation for sea turtles. Her work involved collecting eggs and moving them to safe places to preserve them in an effort to protect the species. Now that she is living in Athens, Karina enjoys reading and gardening. She is married to Fabian Lacava from Argentina. Karina is hopeful that her mother, now living in Mexico, will be joining her soon in Athens.

Faculty

Forrest Stegelin is an Associate Professor and Extension Agricultural Economist specializing in Agribusiness Marketing and Management. His Extension work involves planning, developing and implementing agribusiness marketing and management educational programs. In addition to his Extension activities, he teaches three courses – Food and Fiber Marketing, Selling in Agribusiness, and Agribusiness Management, and he oversees the departmental internships in agribusiness. In 2004, he received two awards – the American Society of Horticultural Science’s Blue Ribbon Extension Communication Award and the Programming Award for the Southern Region.

Dr. Stegelin received a B.S. in Animal Science and Industry from Kansas State University in 1970. He then served his country five years in the United States Air Force as a captain and second bomb wing B-52 bombardier-navigator in Southeast Asia. After completing his tour of duty, he earned an M.B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Oklahoma in 1976, and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Oklahoma State University in 1979.

In 2005, Dr. Stegelin participated in the Study Abroad Program for Maymester in Xalapa and Veracruz, Mexico. He accompanied Dr. Houston, eight departmental students and a number of students from other colleges to Mexico for three weeks of fun, learning and extensive exposure to Mexican culture. This experience was so gratifying that Dr. Stegelin is looking forward to participating in Maymester 2006. The program especially appeals to him because it ties in with his Extension and teaching activities. A prime example is Dr. Stegelin’s association with Milliken & Company (the textile manufacturer in Georgia) through his Extension program and his instruction with real-world examples of the company. He has now scheduled a visit to a marketing partner of Milliken & Company in Mexico for the upcoming Maymester. With these connections, he is able to track cotton grown in the fields of Georgia, to the State’s textile plants where it is woven into fabric, to other facilities where it is stamped, and then to a facility in Mexico where it is sewn into blue jeans to be shipped all over the world.

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