News: Southscapes Fall 2008

CAES Notes

• Award of Excellence
• Young Alumni Achievement Award
• New Officers in Office of College Advancement
• Two More Join Ag Hall of Fame
• Greendogs to Overtake Campus
• CAES Student Interns in Paradise
• Unique Presentation

Award of Excellence

This award recognizes CAES alumni who have achieved excellence in their field and/or community. This year's winner is.

Will Harris is shown (left) receiving the Award of Excellence from CAES Dean and Director Scott Angle.

Will Harris (BS, Animal Science, '76) owns and operates White Oak Pastures, a fourth generation family cattle farm. In 1995, armed with research data and economical analysis, Harris switched his cattle to a 100 percent forage diet instead of a grain diet. In 2008, WOP is nearing the completion of its program to become a certified organic beef producer. WOP beef is sold from Florida to Maine through a health-food distributor and at Publix Super Markets across the Southeast. All beef cuts are now available to upscale restaurants throughout the South through Buckhead Beef. WOP ground beef was the grand prize winner in the 2008 Flavor of Georgia competition. In July 2008, Harris opened Georgia’s first on-farm small meat processing plant, where he processes his own beef as well as goats, sheep and cattle from surrounding farms.

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Young Alumni Achievement Award

This award is given to CAES alumni under the age of 35 who have achieved excellence in their careers and communities. This year's winners are...

Brent L. Dykes (BS, Crop Science, '96) began his career as a resource specialist for the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Within seven years, he was promoted to deputy executive director. In 2005, he was appointed acting executive director, where he oversees the state's voluntary soil and water programs, coordinates the water conservation districts, provides educational programs on the conservation of soil and water resources and provides critical information on the prevention of agricultural non-point source pollution.

C. Elliot Marsh Jr. (BS, Ag Econ, '02) is an agribusiness coordinator and instructor at Ogeechee Technical College in Statesboro, Ga. He manages the agribusiness curriculums and course instruction, advises students and recruits new students to the program. He is active in the Statesboro Bulloch County Chamber of Commerce and Kiwanis Club, and is a member of the 2008 Georgia Agri-Leaders class. In 2007, Marsh was elected to the board of directors for the Agricultural Economics Association of Georgia and in 2008 he was elected the first president of the East Georgia CAES Alumni Chapter.

Yvette Smith (BS, Ag Ed, '97) has been an agricultural teacher and FFA advisor at Southeast Bulloch High School for nine years. She is responsible for educating young people about the environment, careers in agriculture education and the agriculture industry. Smith volunteers for the United Way Foundation and the American Red Cross. She was named the 2008-2009 Teacher of the Year at Southeast Bulloch High School and the Bulloch County Teacher of the Year.

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New Officers in Office of College Advancement

The CAES Office of College Advancement welcomed two new major gifts officers this summer.

Montrese Adger Fuller

Montrese Adger Fuller is the new major gift officer on the UGA Griffin campus. She will be building a strong, long-range development program with alumni and friends in the Griffin area and surrounding counties.

Fuller grew up in Washington Township, New Jersey. She moved to Georgia three years ago from Laurel, Md., and lives in McDonough, Ga. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Rutgers University and a Master of Education in counseling psychology from Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Before joining UGA, Fuller worked in the annual fund departments at Howard University and Emory University in Atlanta.

Niki Newberry is the new major gifts officer on the UGA Tifton campus. Newberry is a native of Rochelle, Ga., and a graduate of CAES. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural communication and a certificate of leadership and service.

Niki Newberry

While at UGA, she was a CAES Ambassador and a member of Ag Hill Council and Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. In the summer of 2006, she was a CAES Congressional Agricultural Fellow assigned to Congressman Sanford Bishop's office.

After graduation, Newberry returned to Congressman Bishop's office as the legislative assistant for agricultural, natural resource, energy, nutrition and trade policy. She worked on legislation such as the 2008 Farm Bill and the FY 2009 Agricultural Appropriations Bill.

She is currently once again a CAES student as she pursues her master's degree in agricultural leadership.

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Two More Join Ag Hall of Fame

Patricia N. Barkuloo and Lawson L. Patten, two visionaries in Georgia agriculture, were posthumously inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Athens on Sept. 5. The Hall of Fame is a program of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Patricia N. Barkuloo

Barkuloo was considered one of the most respected and successful county Extension agents in the history of Georgia Cooperative Extension. Best known for her 4-H achievements, she set the standard for a widely successful program in south Georgia that continues to thrive today. Barkuloo joined Extension in Georgia in 1963 and served in that position for 21 years.

Locally, Barkuloo was involved in all aspects of the Tift County Extension Program and promoted agriculture with consumers in everything she did. She was recognized nationally for her use of radio to educate residents of south Georgia. In 1983, Barkuloo was awarded the University of Georgia D. W. Brooks Award for Excellence in Public Service Extension.

After her retirement, she provided funds to renovate the Rich Building at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center. As a result, the building is now known as the Barkuloo-Rich Conference Center. Barkuloo also endowed two scholarships for the Tift County 4-H program and one at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

Lawson L. Patten

A native of Lakeland, Ga., Lawson L. Patten was a pioneer in the commercialization of forage grasses. His greatest legacy is his leadership in starting and developing the turfgrass industry in Georgia.

In 1940, Patten became interested in Bermuda grass after visiting the Coastal Plain Experiment Station. He began to harvest coastal Bermuda grass to show its practicality. By 1950, interest in the grass had risen so high that he started Patten Seed Company. He sold sprigs of Bermuda grass across the U.S. as the main certified grower of the hybrid.

Under his guidance, the Georgia Crop Improvement Association was established in 1946. It is now known across the world as a leader in the protection and assurance of the genetic seed purity of crop cultures.

Patten was elected president of the Georgia Seedsman Association in 1950 and was president of the Georgia Crop Improvement Association in 1951. Because of the pioneering efforts of Patten Seed Company, turfgrass has become one of the largest agricultural commodities in Georgia.

To learn more about Barkuloo, Patten and the 46 other Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame members, visit www.caes.uga.edu/alumni.

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Greendogs to Overtake Campus

A series of posters designed by CAES graphic designer Jay Bauer will soon adorn the UGA buses. The posters are designed to drive students to a Web site where they can find information on the college's environmental majors as well as tips on how to "go green."

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CAES Student Interns in Paradise

By Juli Fields

Clint Tolbert of Athens, Ga. will tell you with absolute certainty that he is living in paradise and working his dream job. Just six years out of college, Tolbert is the head golf course superintendent at Nanea Golf Club, an exclusive championship golf course designed by David Mclay Kidd.

"Nanea is a truly special place tucked away in one of the most beautiful places in the world," Tolbert said.

CAES turfgrass student Doug Griffeth received a wide range of hands-on experience this summer under the direction of Nanea Golf Club Superintendent and CAES alumnus Clint Tolbert.

A UGA '02 turfgrass management graduate, Tolbert is responsible for agronomic consultation, budgets, irrigation, scheduling, spray programs and fertilizer application, as well as any number of other duties required to keep an exclusive golf club in pristine condition.

"Really it is a 'Jack of all trades' job," Tolbert said. "One of the greatest parts of this job is that today and tomorrow definitely aren't going to be the same. The other great part is being outside in nature and watching the incredible sunrises every morning. It can truly be a religious experience."

In order to share his good fortune and his turfgrass knowledge, Tolbert mentored his first intern this summer. College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences turfgrass management student Doug Griffeth of Bethlehem, Ga., became that intern.

"Doug is a special intern because he is the first person to intern under me and where else would I want to go than UGA to get my first intern," Tolbert said. "All roads lead home I guess."

Under Tolbert's direction, Griffeth learned all aspects of a golf course superintendent's job from operating a vericutting unit to spraying greens and repairing irrigation pumps. He also learned to care for UGA-bred Seashore Paspalum grass, which can be irrigated with salt or brackish water.

For more information on the turfgrass management program, visit www.georgiaturf.com.

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Unique Presentation

Bill Sell (BSA, '49, MS, '55) presented CAES Dean and Director Scott Angle with a truly unique gift during the Conner Hall Centennial Celebration last April. Sell saved a piece of heart pine from the 1955 renovation of Conner Hall. He commissioned Hoschton, Ga., artist Ralph Evans to craft the discarded wood into a hand-turned bowl inscribed with "Centennial Conner Hall 1908- 2008 - One of a Kind." In addition to being a double-Dawg, Sell also served as the head of the college's crop and soil sciences department.

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