Laci J. Banks began her undergraduate work at Alcorn University and entered UGA's Undergraduate Summer Research Program as an intern. UGA's Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics recruited her into the graduate program, where she received a master's in agricultural economics in 2004.

Currently, Banks is an agricultural statistician for the United States Department of Agriculture, National Agriculture Statistical Service. After two years, she was chosen to enter the mathematics statistician program. She will begin taking classes at North Carolina State University in fall 2008.

Chris Hopkins received a bachelor's in crop science in 2002 and a master's in plant protection and pest management in 2004 from UGA. After graduation, Hopkins became an agricultural Extension agent in Toombs County. There, Hopkins served on the Georgia Department of Agriculture's Onion Advisory Panel, the CAED Value-Added working group, GACAA Agronomy Committee and hosted the UGA New Faculty Tour and National
Onion Association tour.

Hopkins recently accepted a position with Bayer CropScience as southeastern agronomist for FiberMax Cotton. Hopkins' responsibilities include the on-farm testing of experimental cotton varieties for parameters including yield, fiber quality and factors important to cotton producers.

Steven Cornell Turner earned a master's in agricultural economics at UGA and a doctorate at Virginia Tech. He spent 17 years on the faculty of UGA's Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, where he became widely known for being a gifted and effective teacher.

Turner's service to student groups resulted in being elected by students in agricultural economics clubs nationwide to serve as faculty advisor to the American Agricultural Economics Association student section.

Turner is head of the department of agricultural and applied economics at Mississippi State University. He recently was named chair of the board of directors of the Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics.