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"The
honorees’ impact and influence on agriculture have been and continue
to be of major importance to the industry," said Tollison, who
added that one of the "most amazing characteristics" of the
five recent inductees "was their humility and desire to help
others."
Martha
Patterson, an administrative support associate with the Alumni
Association, said nomination information will be sent to members in
mid-June. Downloadable forms are available at www.ag.auburn.edu/adm/alumni/activities/hall-of-honor.php.
The deadline for nominations is July 11 and the inductees will be
installed at the organization’s annual meeting next February.
Those
inducted during the Hall of Honor banquet at Auburn this year were Ned
Ellis, Donald Sanders and Gene Stevenson. The late Kenneth
"Max" Autrey and the late James L. Thompson, Sr., were honored
with Pioneer Awards.
The
awards program dates back to 1985 when R.C. Bamberg, Jr., Emory
Cunningham and R. Dennis Rouse were the first Hall of Honor inductees.
In
1996, the AU Agricultural Alumni Association also began honoring
posthumously those who made significant contributions to their chosen
fields. L. Sykes Martin and Edwin V. Smith were the two Pioneer Award
inductees that year.
The
Alumni Association was created in 1981 as a way to promote support for
Auburn University, its agricultural programs and the ag industry.
It’s
also a great way for AU agricultural alumni to stay in touch with
friends they may not have seen in years.
Past
presidents of the alumni association are known throughout Alabama. Billy
Powell, who directs the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, served as the
first president of the Ag Alumni Association in 1982.
In
1992, presidents began serving two-year terms, beginning with Doug
Rigney, who was followed by Deputy Agriculture Commissioner Ray Hilburn,
Lowndes County farmer Ronnie Holladay, Alabama Farmers Federation
Executive Director Mike Kilgore, Central Alabama Farmers Co-op General
Manager Tim Wood and Alabama Farmers Federation Communications Director
Jeff Helms. Tollison, who works with Federal Land Bank, is in his second
year.
"I
have been a proud member of the Agriculture Alumni Association of Auburn
University for many years," said Rigney, who is former
Executive Director for the Alabama Farmer Federation (ALFA) and is
now serving as Deputy Commis-sioner of Agriculture. "I
have been able to witness the great works this association has been able
to accomplish."
Rigney
said the alumni organization enables members to "give back to the
agriculture community not only in the form of scholarships, but in
learning resources and, in some cases, even job opportunities."
The
awards banquet is a way to highlight agriculture, said Tollison, who
also pointed out the organization has many other events throughout the
year. They all help promote agriculture and raise funds for scholarships
and special projects at Auburn University.
"We
would like to strongly encourage existing members and those thinking of
joining to participate in the Ag Roundup in the fall before the
homecoming football game," Tollison said.
During
the past year, the Ag Alumni Association awarded nearly $33,000 in
scholarships to students. Every penny of life membership funds goes
directly into the scholarship endowment program.
Tollison
said the most recent association project is replication of the Dairy
Barn at Ag Heritage Park.
"This
will be the capstone project to the park and allow agriculture to have a
stronger presence on the Auburn campus," said Tollison. "It
will also provide a permanent home to the Ag Alumni Association."
Ag
Alumni projects have been on a fast track during the past decade when it
was decided to extend the tenure of presidents from one to two years.
"By
the time a president got something started his one-year term was up and
he couldn’t see it through," said Wood, general manager of the
Central Alabama Farmers Cooperative in Selma who served his two-year
term in 2003-04. "We wanted more continuity and have been able to
do that by extending a president’s term."
Wood
pointed out some of those inducted into the Hall of Honor may not have
grown up on a farm, but, nevertheless, have done much to promote the
industry in Alabama.
One
was the late Howell Heflin, a decorated Marine combat officer during
World War II who returned home to become a lawyer, chief justice of the
Alabama Supreme Court and, later, a member of the U.S. Senate.
"There
are many deserving people in Alabama who have helped agriculture,"
said Wood. "The Hall of Honor is a way to thank friends of
agriculture because they understood just how important it is."
Patterson
said 105 of the original charter members remain active. She also said
picking five inductees each year can be a daunting task, given the
number of highly deserving nominees.
"We
usually have more than 100 recommendations to consider each year and
those who aren’t picked remain on the list," she said. "It’s
difficult to take a list with that many names on it and bring it down to
five finalists.
"Members
of the association’s board of directors make the final decision after
a ‘short list’ is developed by the executive committee and presented
to them."
Initial
nominations by members of the association are permitted, but letters of
support may be submitted by non-members.
"Our
main goal is to try and recognize outstanding men and women in the field
of agriculture in Alabama for their contributions," Patterson
added.
Some
inductees, like Edwin C. Allen, Sr., were ahead of their times, she
said.
Allen,
who was inducted into the Hall of Honor in 1996, spoke out nearly two
decades ago about water problems involving Alabama, Georgia and Florida.
"He
said 18 years ago that we’d have water rights issues and needed to
address them at that time," she said. "He was a man who had
the insight and foresight to see this problem long before it became the
issue it is today."
Those
inducted this year were:
NED
T. ELLIS, SR.:
Born in Fort Deposit, Ellis grew up in a farming family dating back to
the 1850s in Alabama. He graduated from Auburn University in 1953 and,
after a tour of duty with the Army as a gunnery instructor, returned
home to become a success in the dairy and cattle industries.
Ellis
was the first dairyman in Lowndes County to use free-stall housing for
dairy cows. In 1967, he converted his farm to beef cattle production. In
1972, he became interested in the Chiangus breed. He is considered a
pioneer in that production.
A
decade after returning home from the Army, Ellis became a partner in
Priester’s Pecans which quickly gained a national reputation.
Ellis
and his wife, May, have four children and nine grandchildren.
DONALD W. SANDERS:
During his years at Auburn University, Sanders worked with the National
Tillage Machinery Lab and completed his bachelor’s and master’s
degrees in agricultural engineering.
While working as a
research engineer for the U.S. Forest Service, Sanders earned an MBA at
Auburn. During the same time, he developed and received a U.S. patent
for a mechanized bark hack.
Agriculture has been the
basis of his working career which also involved a stint as a sales
manager of a truck and tractor company. He eventually became president
and the company serves a wide range of customers involved in everything
from row crops to timber and soybeans.
He and his wife, Becky,
have two sons and two grandchildren.
ROY EUGENE STEVENSON:
Born and raised in Harvest, he grew up just south of the Tennessee line,
Stevenson, along with his brother, Bob, loved farming at an early age.
After earning a bachelor’s
degree in Ag Science and Journalism at Auburn University, he began
working for an ag-related publication in Nashville. He later returned to
Alabama where he began a 36-year career with the Alabama Agricultural
Experiment Station.
An accomplished
journalist, Stevenson’s "Research You Can Use" column was a
popular feature in Progressive Farmer magazine. He also
collaborated with Joe Yeager to write "Inside Ag Hill,"
a book detailing events shaping Auburn’s agricultural history.
He and his wife, Mavis,
have three children and six grandchildren.
PIONEER AWARD:
KENNETH
"MAX" AUTREY:
Born the son of an oil field worker in Louisiana, Autrey received a
bachelor’s degree in Dairy Science from Louisiana State University.
Later, he received a master’s degree and doctorate from Iowa State
University.
Autrey
came to Auburn University to direct the AU Department of Dairy Science,
a position he held for 23 years. Not long after his arrival, he
introduced the first Holstein bull into the AU Bull Test Study.
Crossbreeding with the diary herd was an important step in increasing
dairy production. Commercial operations began using the same practice.
During
his tenure at Auburn, Autrey worked with other experts to address
critical issues like the high mortality rate of calves to disease. As a
result, the use of individual calf hutches was established. It is a
practice that became a standard on the U.S. dairy farms.
Autrey
is survived by his wife, Vera, two children, five grandchildren and five
great-grandchildren.
JAMES
L. THOMPSON, SR.:
Born into a family of sharecroppers, Thompson became active in 4-H
activities near Beulah and was motivated to achieve more in life.
His
education at Auburn University was interrupted by the military, but he
returned to school and got his bachelor’s degree in horticulture.
After that, he worked as the Extension 4-H specialist at Enterprise High
School.
Thompson
learned more about the flower business while working at Rosemont Gardens
in Montgomery and, later, partnered with a friend to open Capitol Floral
Co.
The
company he helped start expanded to include seven divisions with 350
employees in the Montgomery area and another 4,500 in Asian facilities.
Thompson, who died in 2006, was preceded in death by his wife, Myra.
They had two children, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
For
more information call Martha Patterson at 334-844-3595 or Elaine Rollo
at 334-844-3204 or go to the alumni section online at http://www.ag.auburn.edu/.
Alvin
Benn is a freelance writer from Selma. |
