Alumni Awards
Nominations are open for 2025 Alumni Awards
The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Alumni Association honors college alumni annually for their outstanding achievements. The next alumni awards ceremony will be held on Friday, March 21, 2025, at the Classic Center in Athens.
The annual Alumni Awards are part of our Signature Event series. For more information on our Signature Events, please visit https://www.caes.uga.edu/news-events/signature-events.html.
Applications for the 2025 Alumni Awards will close on July 1, 2024.
Presenting Sponsor:
Red Sponsors:
Black, White and Silver Sponsors:
Farm Credit Associations of Georgia, Corteva Agriscience and Georgia Agribusiness Council
Young Alumni Achievement Award
The Young Alumni Achievement Award recognizes alumni, 40 years old or younger, who have achieved excellence in their chosen field and/or in their community. Nominations for the Young Alumni Achievement Award are open to anyone who is a graduate of CAES and is 40 years old or younger as of December 31, 2025.
Alumni Award of Excellence
The Alumni Award of Excellence recognizes alumni who have achieved excellence in their chosen field and/or in their community. Nominations for the Alumni Award of Excellence are open to anyone who is a graduate of CAES and is 41 years old or older as of December 31, 2025.
2024 Young Alumni Award Winners from Left to Right: Chris Chammoun, Whitney Kizer Murphy, Zachary Taylor Murphy
2024 Award of Excellence Winners from Left to Right: Lohitash Karumbaiah, Todd Callaway, Larry Lykins, Jr., Phillip M. Brannen
Award Winners
2024
Young Alumni — Chris Chammoun, Whitney Kizer Murphy, and Zachary Taylor Murphy
Award of Excellence — Phillip M. Brannen, Todd Callaway, Lohitash Karumbaiah, and Larry Lykins, Jr.
View 2024 photos | Read the news release
2023
Young Alumni — Jessie Turk Bland, Chad Paulk, and Tyson Strickland
Award of Excellence — Derek Eberhart, Michelle Samuel-Foo, and Carla Wennberg
View 2023 photos
2022
Young Alumni — David Cromley, Samantha Kilgore, Anna Reddish and Lanie Riner
Award of Excellence — Swagata "Ban" Banerjee, Jimmy Blitch, Garth Boyd, and Joy Carter Crosby
View 2022 photos
2019
Young Alumni — Sara Dunn, Tamlin Hall, and Franklin West
Award of Excellence — Charlie Broussard, Ken Foster, Jaime Hinsdale Foster, and Andrea B. Simao
View 2019 photos
2018
Young Alumni — Nick Chammoun, Sara Webb Hughes, and Linda Brothers Purvis
Award of Excellence — Donya C. Lester, Krishna Prasad Paudel, Calvin D. Perry, and Jody Tyson Strickland
View 2018 photos
2017
Young Alumni — Madison "Matt" Coley, Trey Cutts, Farrah Hegwood Newberry, and Tracey D. Troutman
Award of Excellence — Jimmy L. Hill, J. Keith Kelly, and Dennis J. Sheppard
View 2017 photos
2016
Young Alumni — Luke Lanier, Allison Perkins, and Cliff Riner
Award of Excellence — D. Wayne Akins Jr., Charles H. Bronson Jr., and Lowry "Whitey" Weyman Hunt Jr.
View 2016 photos
2015
Young Alumni — Carmen Benson Byce, Megan Mullis Green, and Travis Moore
Award of Excellence — James (Jimmy) Forrest Jr. and Donald (Bo) Warren
2014
Young Alumni — Jed Evans, Jim Faircloth, and Rachel McLocklin Santos
Award of Excellence — Larry Cunningham, Ron Holt, Scott NeSmith, and Floyd Shockley
2013
Young Alumni — Edith Deann Akins-Lewenthal, Betsy MacMillan McCorkle, Sydne Moody Smith, and Robert L. Stewart Jr.
Award of Excellence — Stanley Coley and Michael Rasher
2012
Young Alumni — Bret Caudell, Susannah Lanier, Becca Turner, and Abby Needham
Award of Excellence — Chigozie Asiabaka and Brian Tankersley
2011
Young Alumni — Joel McKie and Christy Cromley Seyfert
Award of Excellence — Polly Ligon O’Grady, Lucy Reid, and Arch Daniel Smith II
View 2011 photos
2010
Young Alumni — Marianne Shockley Robinette, Christopher Stripling, Sam Watson, and Clay Ward
Award of Excellence — Bruce Kotz and Chuck Williams
2009
Young Alumni — Beth Bland, Carrie Lynn Fowler, Clint Tolbert, and Rachel M. Walters
Award of Excellence — Kristen McWhorter, Dixie Truelove, and John Wilkinson
2008
Rising Star — Sarah Masoero
Young Alumni — Brent Dykes, Elliott Marsh and Yvette Smith
Award of Excellence — Will Harris III
2007
Rising Star — Mia Morgan
Young Alumni Achievement Award — Laci Banks and Chris Hopkins
Award of Excellence — Steven C. Turner
2006
Rising Star — Amanda Redden
Young Alumni Achievement Award — Amber Davis Collins, Steven Meeks, Billy Skaggs, and Emily H. Watson
Award of Excellence — Argene Claxton and Anastassios Haniotis
2005
Rising Star — Lisa A. Last
Award of Excellence — Charles “Randy” Nuckolls
Young Alumni Achievement Award — John R. Hayes, Mary Ann Parsons, and Marie Katherine Truesdell
Faculty Award — Joe West
2004
Rising Star — Joel McKie
Award of Excellence — Gary Black
Young Alumni Achievement Award — Megan H. Morris, Joy Carter, Marionette Holmes, and Jennifer Pedrotty
Faculty Award — John C. McKissick
2003
Rising Star — Brian Lance
Award of Excellence — Fred Harrison Jr. and Steve Newton
Faculty Award — Jerry Johnson
2002
Rising Star — Carol Lea Spruill Lawrence
Award of Excellence — Gaylord Coan and Dr. Hsi-huang Chen
Faculty Award — Keith J. Karnok
2001
Rising Star — Mary Ann Davis Parsons
Award of Excellence — Laura Meadows, Gary Tankersley, Al Pearson, and Emmett Reynolds Jr.
Faculty Award — Allan Armitage and Roger Wyatt
2000
Rising Star — Donna Leanne Stalvey
Award of Excellence — Chip Blalock, Stephen J. Brannen, and Paul Broun
Faculty Award — Paul Thomas
1999
Rising Star — Megan Howard Morris
Award of Excellence — Ed Brown, Wilbur Mull, and Lawrence Risse
Faculty Award — Estes Reynolds