J. Henry Massey

Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame

2022 Inductee

J. Henry Massey
BSA — Poultry Science, 1943; MS — Poultry Science, 1960

J. Henry Massey spent 26 years with UGA Cooperative Extension, starting as a specialist and ultimately serving as head of North District Extension and head of Extension Poultry Science. Throughout his career, Massey developed applied-research and educational programs for his constituents, finding practical, research-based solutions for the state’s poultry producers, and many credit his leadership during the 1950s and 1960s with facilitating the success of what is now Georgia’s number one agricultural commodity.

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Massey earned the Okinawa Battle Star during World War II, then spent 33 years in the Marine Reserves, serving as president of the Georgia Reserve Officers Association and on the Resolutions Committee of the National Reserve Officers Association. He served in the Korean War and was a recipient of the Brigade Volunteer Award, only the fourth Georgian to ever receive the recognition.

He served on the Governor’s Committee on Georgia Agriculture and the Advisory Council for Vocational Education in Georgia. In 1995, both the Georgia Senate and House of Representatives recognized Henry’s outstanding accomplishments with separate resolutions commending him for his service to Georgia agriculture and the state.

Massey’s dedication to agriculture began at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), where he served as president of the Ag Hill Council and was elected to the prestigious AGHON Society. He was an active member of the CAES Alumni Association, serving as its president in 1982-1983 and receiving the Distinguished Service Award in 1984. He was a member of the committee that saved the old UGA Dairy Barn from demolition, raising funds to renovate it into the Four Towers Building, which now houses the offices of the CAES Alumni Association and Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame. UGA named the Henry Massey Pavilion at the Poultry Research Center in his honor, recognizing his contributions to the poultry industry, the university and its students and Georgia 4-H.