May 2003
Nathan Baker
Nathan Baker is the staff attorney for Friends of the Columbia Gorge in Portland, Oregon. His duties require him to review land use decisions, file appeals, represent environmental organizations and comment on development applications.
Nathan received a B.S.A. in Environmental Economics and Management from UGA in 1997 and a J.D. from Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College in 2000. While in college, he was on the Dean's List and a Presidential Scholar. His class project in ecology (ECL 350) was recognized as the Best Ecology Site Preservation Project. While in law school, Nathan received the Law Review Excellence Award, Pro Bono Honors Program Certificate, Cornelius Honor Society Award, Natural Resources Law Institute Leadership Award, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Certificate, and the Natural Resources Law Scholarship. He served as student body president, secretary and president of the Student Bar Association, and editor of the Environmental Law Review: Ninth Circuit Review.
Nathan saved money while attending UGA in order to attend law school. He maintained a high grade point average and studied hard for the law school admissions test. He advises Environmental Economics and Management students to earn the Environmental Ethics Certificate. He suggests that Terry Centner's class is a great primer for those interested in environmental law. Nathan welcomes contacts from students interested in pursuing legal careers.
Michael O. Cornett is a Resource Conservation & Development Coordinator for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Natural Resources Conservation Services. He serves as a technical advisor for economic, environmental and natural resource development in an eight county area of west Alabama.
Michael graduated from UGA with a B.S. in Agricultural Economics in 1969 and received a M.A.S. from the University of Alabama in 1979. He has also been certified as a professional erosion and sediment control specialist. While in college, Michael took a variety of courses which created a diversity of knowledge and experiences which have provided a resource base to call upon when new and unique situations develop in his professional career. His advice to current students in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics is to develop as diverse a background as possible through course work, civic/school activities and social experiences. "Work as much as possible at jobs that provide learning experiences in people skills."
For the past thirty-five years, Michael has been busy with numerous activities. He has taught Vocational Agriculture and high school. His greatest accomplishments have been his thirty-three year marriage, two grown daughters, a thirty year career with the USDA and serving his community and church wherever he has lived. He received the Farm City Publicity Chairman Special Service Award and was listed in the 1979 - 1980 edition of Community Leaders & Noteworthy Americans. Michael has been a member of the Jaycees and Toastmasters in Savannah, Georgia; Rotary Club in Dawson, Georgia; Kiwanis Club and Cullman Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors in Cullman, Alabama; Boy Scouts of America; Board of Advisors of Judson College; Business instructor at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Al; and served two terms on the National Board of Directors of the Soil Conservation Society Association as the South Central Region Representative.
In his leisure time, Michael video tapes all the games in which his daughter plays college soccer. He also directs the television ministry for his church. They produce three live television productions, one hour of edited tape delay and one hour of radio each week, as well as commercial spots.
Gregory (Greg) F. Crumley is president of Crumley and Associates, a real estate appraisal and consulting company. He determines real estate values of homes, farms, and commercial properties for lending institutions, individuals and others. In addition, Greg is a timber and cattle farmer. He owns the 1500 acre Cypress Creek Plantation in Tift County which is managed for timber and wildlife.
Greg attended Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and graduated from UGA with a B.S.A. in Agricultural Economics in 1982. He received an M.B.A. and M.P.A. from Valdosta State University in 1984. Greg was a Cum Laude graduate and member of Phi Kappa Phi, Golden Key, and Gamma Sigma Delta honor societies. Also, he was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho and Alpha Zeta fraternities. While in college, he "strove to develop good study and work habits and to become an effective time manager." His advice to current students in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics is to "get involved in organizations, take an active role and seek leadership opportunities."
Since college graduation, Greg has been recognized numerous times for his accomplishments. He was presented the George E. Hixson Award - Tifton Kiwanis Club; named in Outstanding Young Men of America in 1985; chosen as the 1991 Big Brother-Big Sister of the Year for Tift County; chosen as the 1996 Outstanding Forest Steward of Tift County; and chosen as the 2002 Tift County Conservationist of the Year. He holds membership in the ABAC President's Club.
Although Greg has been very successful and his achievements acknowledged, "becoming the father of two wonderful children, fifteen year old Mary and eleven year old Sy," has been his greatest accomplishment. In his leisure time, Greg enjoys hunting, shooting skeet, and coaching little league baseball. He is a deacon at First Baptist Church of Ty Ty, a Sunday School teacher, and board member of Tift County Department of Children and Family Services.
Stan Dixon
Stan Dixon is a partner in the Swift Supply Company, an industrial, safety, welding, packaging, and janitorial supply company in Elberton, Georgia. Stan also serves as secretary/treasurer of the company with duties in purchasing, selling, and materials management. Emphasizing "service" enables the company to compete with larger companies.
Stan graduated from UGA with a B.S.A. in Agribusiness in 1998. While in college, he was on the Dean's List, a member the Agribusiness Club and the Baptist Student Union. He worked as an intern with Tiger Trading Company and part-time at Swift Supply Company. His advice to current students in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics: "Do not expect to start at the top. Try hard to keep a GPA of 3.5 or higher and when life gets you down, ‘live to fight another day.'"
Stan's greatest accomplishments since graduation include his marriage, becoming a father and becoming a business partner. Stan's wife is the youth minister at their church, and he enjoys helping her work with the youth. He also enjoys racing (extreme dirt car series and Southern All Stars) and UGA football.
Jennifer Dudley
Jennifer Dudley is an environmental specialist for the Georgia Transmission Corporation in Tucker, Georgia. She is responsible for coordinating the activities involved with routing and siting transmission facilities. Also, she prepares NEPA documentation and ensures that her company is in compliance with all federal, state, and local environmental regulations.
Jennifer graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Environmental Economics and Management in 1997. She is currently pursuing an M.S. in Urban Policy Studies with specialization in Economic Planning and Development from Georgia Southern University. She plans to graduate in 2005. While attending UGA, Jennifer was awarded the Roy E. Proctor Memorial Scholarship, Delta Gamma House Corp Scholarship, E. G. Dawson Scholarship and HOPE Scholarship. She was an active member of Delta Gamma Sorority–VP Foundation and Director of Scholarship. Jennifer was a Cum Laude graduate and a member of Alpha Zeta and Order of Omega. She volunteered on a weekly basis at Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic.
The activities Jennifer participated in during college have benefitted her professional career. She was involved in various organizations that helped improve her leadership skills and her team skills which are vital in her current position. To students in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Jennifer says, "I would suggest utilizing the services at the Career Services Center. It provides assistance with resume writing and interviews." Jennifer found her current job through Career Services. Her greatest accomplishments since graduation are "securing a permanent job at GTC and getting accepted to graduate school."
In her leisure time, Jennifer's favorite thing to do is attend Georgia football games. She also enjoys playing golf and tennis. She is a member of Delta Gamma's Alumnae Association in Atlanta.
Patrick Samuel Eidson
Patrick Samuel Eidson is a litigation attorney with Beauchamp & Associates in Albany, Georgia. It is his job to provide the best legal service possible to his clients, regardless of the complexity of their cases or the compensations made. The firm offers citizens quality, professional and caring legal services in a broad spectrum of claims, primarily related to personal injury. Patrick is active in a number of professional organizations. Since 1998, he has been a representative of the Executive Counsel, Young Lawyers Division of the Georgia State Bar, District 2. He is a member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, American Bar Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Daugherty County Bar Association, and Member at Large for the Trial Board. He has been active in various political election committees, Partners in Excellence at Sherwood Elementary School, and a coach for the Lee County High School Mock Trial.
Patrick graduated from UGA with a B.S.A. in Agricultural Economics/Agribusiness in 1991. He graduated with a J.D. from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama in 1996. Patrick is currently enrolled at Albany State University pursuing an MBA. While at UGA, he was on the Dean's List, a member of the National Agri-Marketing Association, Ag Hill Counsel, Agricultural Economics Association of Georgia and Agricultural Economics Club. Patrick was active in numerous trial and court competitions while in law school. He also served as committee chair and on the Activities Committee of the Student Bar Association, and was a member of the Freshman Orientation Counsel, the Georgia Student Bar Association, the Environmental Law Society, Phi Delta Phi, Future Trial Lawyers Association, the Cumberland Softball Team, and was a street law volunteer.
Law school was Patrick's goal after graduating from UGA and his greatest accomplishment has been graduation from law school. While in college, he developed close interpersonal relationships with professors and fellow students which helped him develop the same type of relationships with his law school professors, law students and people associated with his professional career. Patrick's advice to students in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics is to "enter each type of class with an open mind and attack it veraciously, because it may become a preferred field of study and possible career choice. When I took Agricultural Law with Dr. Centner, the class was exciting and not a burden, though complex, because of discovered interest in the field. This was probably the confirmation that I would someday enter the field of law as a career."
Patrick is a member of the First Baptist Church of Albany. He enjoys American motorcycles, old hot rods and University of Georgia football. He has "made several trips to Sturgis, South Dakota to the motorcycle rally as well as Daytona, Florida and places in between." He also enjoys vintage car shows. Patrick is an Athens native and can hardly remember missing a Georgia football game.
W. I. (Bill) Golden
W. I. (Bill) Golden is the director of Governmental Relations at Georgia Southern University. His responsibilities include the development and strengthening of relationships between Georgia Southern University and the members of the Georgia General Assembly, State Leadership, members of the Georgia Congressional Delegation and members of the Georgia Board of Regents for the University System of Georgia. Prior to his current position, Bill spent thirty years in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service at UGA.
Bill graduated from UGA with a B.S. in Agricultural Economics & Extension Education in 1958 and an M.S. in Agricultural Economics in 1959. He received a Ph.D. from Texas A&M in Agricultural Economics in 1966 and a C.P.M. (Certified Public Management Degree) from UGA in 1981.
While Bill was in college, he worked part time in the Agricultural Economics Department and had the opportunity to interact with numerous faculty members. The interaction with college faculty greatly enhanced his professional career. His advice to current students in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics is to have as much interaction with faculty members as possible. "Participate in extra curricular activities and take full advantage of the university environment to enhance knowledge and the ability to continue to learn."
Bill has been active in numerous professional and civic organizations through the years. He was chairman of the Foundation Board for the Certified Public Managers Association and served as its president. Also, he has been a member of the Business Council of Georgia, Georgia Economic Developers Association Board of Directors, Georgia Agribusiness Council, Southern Industrial Development Council, Governor's Small Business and Minority Development Advisory Committee, and numerous others organizations. He played a key role in the organizational development of the Southwest Georgia Economic Development Council and was instrumental in the organization and served as chairman of the 13-State Advisory Committee for the Southern Rural Development Center in Starkville, Mississippi.
Bill's greatest accomplishments have been raising his family and his contribution to Rural Economic Development as a result of his employment in higher education. He and his wife, Dorothy, live in Statesboro, Georgia and have two children, Jeffrey and Jennifer. He has served as the Charge Lay Leader in three churches, a member of the Board of Stewards at the St. James Methodist Church in Athens and taught Sunday School for all age levels.
Fred W. Greer, Jr.
Fred W. Greer, Jr. joined Main Street Banks, Inc. and Bank of Covington in 1992 and shortly thereafter was elected president and chief executive officer at Bank of Covington and President of Main Street Banks. He accepted these positions after retiring from twenty-eight years of service to Citizens & Southern (C&S) Bank where he was senior vice president. During his 28 years with C&S Bank, Fred established the bank as a leader and innovator among banks in the agribusiness community. He coordinated events which took Georgia's agricultural leaders on annual tours of agribusiness operations throughout the United States and Canada and worked closely with the Georgia poultry and cattle industries. In addition, he garnered support from C&S for youth organizations like 4-H, FFA and FHA and initiated support from the bank for the formation of the Georgia Agribusiness Council. Furthermore, Fred served as president of the Ag Alumni Association and the Georgia Agribusiness Council; chairman of Senator Sam Nunn's Agricultural Advisory Committee, the Agricultural Division of the American Bankers Association, and both the Georgia 4-H and Georgia FFA Advisory Committees; vice-chairman of the Georgia 4-H Foundation; and treasurer of the Georgia Forestry Association.
Fred graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.S.A. in 1962 and an M.S. in 1963 in Agricultural Economics. He worked part-time during regular sessions and full-time during the summers throughout his college career. He received numerous academic honors and undergraduate and graduate scholarships. In addition to his studies at UGA, Fred attended numerous training schools through C&S Bank, the Graduate School of Banking of the South at LSU, Cornell University's Executive Management Program, Leadership Georgia, and the US Army War College at Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
In 1997, Fred's numerous accomplishments were recognized when the Agricultural Alumni Association of the University of Georgia inducted him into the Agricultural Hall of Fame. In 2000, he was named Soil and Water Conservationist of the Year by the Upper Ocmulgee River District.
Fred and his wife, Peggy, live on their farm near Mansfield, Georgia and manage the farm in production of Brangus cattle, timber and wildlife. In 2000, Fred was named Cattleman of the Year by the Piedmont Cattlemen's Association. He serves as an elder at the Luther Hays Presbyterian Church and is involved with various state and community organizations and committees.
Don C. McGough is the director of the Commodities/Marketing Department of the Georgia Farm Bureau. In that position, he manages the department, represents farmer members' interests in agricultural policy, and assists in marketing farm commodities. He served as president of the Agricultural Economics Association of Georgia from 1993-1994 and was recognized by various commodity groups for work he performed on their behalf.
Don received a B.S.A. in Agricultural Economics from UGA in 1977. While in college, he served as secretary of the Agricultural Economics Club. His attitudes and actions in college have helped his professional career. Don respected his professors and tried to learn from them. He maintained the positive work ethic that his father had taught him and developed lines of communication and networked with people. Don offers this advice to current students in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics: "There is no substitute for hard work. Apply yourself and do your best -- the rest will take care of itself. Be yourself and develop confidence in your ability. Learn from your mistakes."
Don's greatest accomplishments include assisting farmer members through four Farm Bills, striving to improve the Commodity Department and being promoted to the position of director, and having his oldest son attend UGA.
Don has three sons, including twins, and enjoys helping them with their activities. He also enjoys the outdoors, fishing, hunting, water skiing, and gardening. He serves as the usher coordinator at his church.
Rob Minter
Rob Minter is vice president of government relations with Tractebel North America, Inc. which is a developer and operator of independent power and industrial facilities across the country. Rob oversees the management of Tractebel policies and interests as it relates to the U.S. Congress and seventeen states in which the corporation has energy enterprises. Rob now resides in Houston, Texas, but he spends a lot of time in the nation's Capital as vice president of government relations. Although Rob has been with Tractebel less than a year, he has been on the road for the energy industry more than 20 years.
Rob has worked in the energy industry since graduation from UGA in 1982. He started working with the Georgia Power Company in Atlanta, Georgia as a strategic planner. He moved from the Planning Department to the Department of Governmental Affairs in 1985. While there he was promoted to coordinator of federal government affairs and transferred to the Southern Company, the parent company of Georgia Power. This promotion required Rob's transfer to Washington D.C. While there he was promoted to manager of Southern Company's Environmental Policy Department. In 1998 Rob returned to Georgia Power and Atlanta, Georgia as assistant to the vice president of government affairs. In 1999 he was transferred to Southern Energy, Inc and its subsidiary, Mirant, Inc., as vice president of federal governmental affairs. Rob felt his greatest accomplishment since graduation from UGA has been the opportunity to work with such extraordinary people.
Rob graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.S.A. degree in Agricultural Economics in 1982. While attending UGA, Rob was busy with campus activities outside the classroom. He served as vice president of Alpha Zeta and treasurer of the Golden Key organization. He also maintained an active membership in Phi Kappa Phi. Extracurricular activities did not prevent Rob from being on the Dean's honor roll several times. He received an academic scholarship while majoring in Agricultural Economics. Rob recalled one particularly rewarding and challenging outside project of working with mentally handicapped children. He added, "I received a lot of personal encouragement from Dean Bill Flatt to participate in extracurricular activities."
The leadership roles Rob took while in college were tremendously helpful in getting him where he is today. He mentioned that Dr. Wenn William's Agricultural Economics class on commodity trading has greatly benefitted his career.
With a rocketing career tract like Rob's, he found time for sailing boats and climbing mountains--not just any mountain, but Mt Kilimanjaro in South Africa. He said he started mountain climbing when a friend asked him to tag along on a weekend climbing excursion. While living in Washington, D.C. Rob made friends with a professional sailor. Now, according to Rob, he is addicted to the sport and takes at least two trips per year as an assistant professional sailor.
Rob's advice to Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics students is to focus on academic skills. One should exhibit leadership skills by speaking out and developing public speaking skills. It is also important to be self motivated and listen to your advisors. Rob wanted to pass on advice from his grandmother that has served him well. "Grandmother told me, ‘remember, the truth will find you out.'"
Sidney L. Mullis, Jr.
Sidney L. Mullis, Jr. works for the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service as the county extension coordinator for Augusta/Richmond County, Georgia. He is the administrator of the county office and serves as an agricultural and natural resources agent.
He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1980 with a B.S.A. in Agricultural Economics and from Brenau University in 1986 with an M.P.A. While in college, Sidney was a member of the Agricultural Economics Club, Baptist Student Union and on the Dean's List four times. His persistence during his school years carried over into his professional career. His advice for students in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics is to get to know the professors and administrators in your major. "You'll meet failures, but strive to succeed and you'll meet many successes."
Since graduation, Sidney has twice been honored in Outstanding Young Men of America, elected president of the Jaycees in Toccoa and twice in Richmond County, and received numerous awards in extension associations. His greatest accomplishment since graduation is becoming county extension coordinator for Augusta/Richmond County.
Sidney and his wife, Virginia, live in Augusta and have three children – Michael Collingsworth, Lindy, and Joey.
