Georgia Cooperative Council

The 34th Georgia Cooperative Council Annual meeting was held on March 4, 2002, at the Farm Bureau building in Macon, Georgia.  Approximately 75 people were in attendance representing various Council members and award winners.  A buffet lunch was served, compliments of the Council, door prizes were handed out, and a keynote speech was made by author Terry Kay.  Mr. Kay is an oft published author of novels, including his most famous work, To Dance With the White Dog.

Information concerning various topics was discussed including; Council Financial report, Nominating Committee report, Presidents report, Youth Conference, Young Couples conference, and N.I.C.E.  Corrie Duval and Clint Brooks, attendees from the 2001 Youth conference, gave their thoughts on the conference and the importance they placed it in their life.  Chris Pullen, an attendee at the 2001 Young Couples conference, was also there and gave a nice endorsement of the conference and the benefits he and his wife received from attending.

The following awards were handed out during the meeting:

 

Corrie Duval, 2001 Youth attendee gives her views on the 2001 Youth Conference	Clint Brooks offers his impression of the 2001 Youth Conference	Author Terry Kay was the featured speaker.	Earl Merritt gets ready to present some door prizes.
Some of the attendees.	The roast beef lunch was enjoyed by all.	2001-2002 President Bill Verner	Door prizes were awarded during the meeting.

Craig Scroggs receives his award.  Craig was honored by the GA Co-op Council due to his many years service to the Council.	Henry Verner was nominated by Walton EMC and is shown here with his wife as he receives his award.	Dennis Waldrep receives his award from Bill Newberry.
Mr. Benson Ham was nominated by the Central GA EMC.	The Dairy Farmers of America nominated  S.J. Saffold, Jr. as their award recipient.	Mr. Henry Verner and family.

President's Report

Bill Verner

It has been an honor and privilege to serve as President of the Georgia Cooperative Council during the past year.  I would like to begin my thanking all members of the Board of Directors, and especially our Executive Secretary, Dick Schermerhorn, for all of their help in making this past year so successful for the Council.

As you know, the Council represents significant elements of the state's agribusiness industry.  The Council is a statewide, non-profit cooperative association whose membership is composed of marketing, supply, financial, electric, telephone, cotton, poultry, and service cooperatives.  Whether it's your feed, seed, and home and garden needs from Southern States; GoldKist Farms chicken on your table or at the drive-thru; farm and agribusiness financial services through Farm Credit; StaplCotn's products we wear each day; milk, butter, and cheese from the dairy co-ops; or electricity for almost 1/2 the homes in Georgia thru EMC's; or telephone cooperatives providing service to so many Georgians ... it's easy to see that cooperatives touch the lives of Georgians each and every day.

The objective of the Council is to  promote and encourage all types of cooperative associations in the state, and to serve as a forum for cooperatives to share information on common challenges.  I am pleased to report to you that your Council, including the tireless efforts of many volunteers, has worked hard to promote and encourage the cooperative form of business by continuing to sponsor programs like:

• the Youth Leadership Conference

• the Young Couples Conference

• the Julian A. Rabun Cooperative Service Award, and

• the Georgia Distinguished Cooperator Awards

The 2001 Youth Leadership Conference was a fun-filled event that was enjoyed by all 37 attendees and 9 counselors.  The participants were interested in the cooperative business structure and were provided with plenty of information on state and national cooperative businesses.  Presenters from Farm Credit Service, GoldKist, Dairy Farmers of America, Maryland/Virginia Milk Producers, Southern States, Georgia EMC, and StapleCotn gave an overview of their cooperative and answered many questions.  This group was able to complete an individual personality profile and get some leadership training during the conference.  These activities were well received and, hopefully, will be able to be used in the future.

The 2001 Young Couples Conference was a tremendous success.  Georgia was represented at the conference by 16 couples.  South Carolina has 11 couples in attendance, and North Carolina had 8 couples to come.  This couples were able to make new friends and learn about cooperatives in a relaxes atmosphere in Myrtle beach, SC.  Owen and Gina Thomason were selected from the Georgia couples to represent them at the 2002 NICE Conference in Chicago this summer.  This was the first year that North Carolina has been with us and they added to the enjoyment of the weekend.  Sponsors and presenters included Farm Credit, Southern States, GoldKist, Dairy Farmers of America, Staplcotn, USDA Rural Business and Cooperative Service, Clemson University, North Carolina State University, and the University of Georgia.  The 35 couples who participated gave the 2001 conference a rating of 4.3 out of a possible 5.

On Wednesday, September 19, 2001, Governor Roy Barnes signed a proclamation declaring October as "Cooperative Month" in Georgia.  J. Craig Scroggs, USDA Cooperative Development Specialist and his boss, Stone Workman, USDA Rural Development State Director, joined me for the ceremony at the State Capitol.  Gov. Barnes is familiar with the cooperative movement in Georgia and has funded several initiatives to assist cooperative development within the state over the past year.

The 2001 NICE Conference was held at the Cobb Galleria from July 23-25, 2001, and many members of the Georgia Co-op Council has a part in hosting the event.  In addition, several attendees of the youth conference were present and were able to enjoy the workshops.  Bill Thomas, Craig Scroggs, and Gale Cutler were all busy during the weekend before the conference started and then during the actual meeting time.  Bill, in particular, worked tirelessly on the program documenting activities throughout the week.  As official photographer and PowerPoint guru, he was always running around with his digital camera or sitting behind a computer.  Bill put together several PowerPoint shows during the week that showcased all of the activities going on during the convention.

Our youth scholars from Georgia, Seth Turner, Blake Coleman, and Laci Banks represented the State in a manner in which we could all be proud.  Seth was selected to come back to the 2002 conference in Chicago as a youth leader.   Only 10 youth from all the attendees are selected and Seth will be a wonderful leader for us.  Congratulations Seth.

Considering all of these activities, involving so many Council members, reaching out to so many present and future leaders, I hope you will agree that the Council is working hard to fulfill its objectives.  In addition to these activities, your Board of Directors recently approved a new sponsorship for the State FFA's upcoming Agricultural Communications Career Development Event, and also approved a new sponsorship for the Georgia 4-H Resource Management Project.  It goes without saying how important these organizations are in developing youth leadership , and we certainly rely upon a strong relationship with both FFA and 4-H in supporting the Council's youth leadership programs.  Therefore, it's easy to see why your Board chose to support these important initiatives.

There is so much more to report, but I'll refer you to www. agecon.uga.edu/~gacoops/, the Council's web site, for ALL the latest information on Council activities.  So I will close by thanking all of you for your support of the Georgia Cooperative Council and pledge to you that we will work to make the coming year even better.

Please send any comments or suggestions to: Ga Co-op Council

Last Revised: September 23, 2002

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