Three South Georgian's to be honored at Celebrate ABAC | Schools

TIFTON, GA - News release from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

Former students of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will be honored at the annual ABAC Alumni Association awards ceremony as a part of the Celebrate ABAC weekend on March 3 at 11 a.m. at the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village on the ABAC campus.

Advance tickets ordered by Feb. 17 are $25 per person.  After that date, advance tickets will be $35.  There will be no tickets sold at the door. 

The brunch ceremony at the Museum will recognize ABAC alumni who impacted the college and their communities in significant ways.  For more information on the Celebrate ABAC weekend, interested persons can contact the ABAC College Advancement office at (229) 391-4900 or visit the web site at www.abac.edu/celebrate.    

ABAC Alumni Association award winners this year include Cook Holliday of Monroe, Distinguished Alumnus; Nancy Gurley Jenkins of Moultrie, Helen Brown Sasser Award; Barbara Grogan from Americus, Outstanding Young Alumnus; Von G. Peavy of Moultrie, J. Lamar Branch Award; Dr. Mary Ellen Hicks from Sycamore, Outstanding Educator; John Redding from Monroe, Outstanding Business Leader; and Garth Webb from Tifton, Honorary Alumnus.  The Johnie Clark family from Colquitt County will also receive the Family Legacy Award.

Holliday attended ABAC from 1963-1965, majoring in agriculture. He then received his bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Wyoming. He is a retired teacher and coach who taught in Treutlen and Barrow counties, as well as the greater Atlanta area.

He is a member of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, the Barrow County Association of Educators, and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association.

As a coach, he has been inducted into the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association (GACA) Hall of Fame, the ABAC Athletics Hall of Fame, the Georgia Track Hall of Fame, Barrow County Sports Hall of Fame, and the inaugural Winder-Barrow High School Hall of Fame.

Holliday’s teams won six state championships in track and field, 100 basketball games with Treutlen High School, and 33 region championships.  He was honored as the GACA Track and Cross Country Coach of the Year 33 times.

Jenkins attended ABAC from 1971-1973, where she majored in home economics education. She attained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in home economics education from the University of Georgia (UGA). 

She is a skilled painter, carpenter, seamstress, and home decorator. These skills helped in her Family and Consumer Sciences teaching career at both Williams Junior High School and Colquitt County High School before her retirement. She also served as a Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) advisor.

He is a member of the American Family and Consumer Sciences Association, the Georgia Family and Consumer Sciences Association, and is a member of the Federated Guild in Colquitt County, where she served as co-chair of the conservation committee. The committee goes to elementary schools in the area promoting conservation.

Grogan received her associate degree in family and consumer sciences from ABAC in 1998. While at ABAC, she served as an ABAC Ambassador and was an active member of the Family and Consumer Sciences Club.

She went on to attain two bachelor’s degrees as a double major in consumer economics and housing at UGA in 2000 and earned her Master of Public Administration degree, specializing in public policy and personnel management, in 2002 from UGA. 

Since January of 2009, Grogan has been employed with Archway Professional, University of Georgia Archway Partnership. She also currently serves as Vice President of Membership for the Georgia Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.

She has previously worked for Senators Saxby Chambliss and Paul Broun and Congressmen Max Burns, Bob Inglis, and John Linder. She currently serves on the ABAC Ag Alumni Council and the ABAC ACTIONS (Alumni Connecting To Involved and Outstanding New Students) group, as well as a thoughtful contributor to the college’s Rural Studies program. 

Peavy earned his associate degree in agriculture education from ABAC in 1977.  He received his bachelor’s degree in agriculture in 1979, his Master of Education degree in 1985, and his Education Specialist degree in 1990, all from UGA.  He also completed a Director of Vocational Education degree from Valdosta State University in 1998.

His employment includes working with ABAC’s School of Agriculture and Natural Resources from 2000-2011, as an agriculture education teacher at Colquitt County Junior High, and as an agriculture mechanics teacher and department head with Colquitt County High School.

Peavy has received numerous honors from the Georgia Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association, and has received honorary degrees from the American FFA, Georgia Farmer, and Chapter Degree-UGA Collegiate.

 Peavy has also been named Colquitt County High School Teacher of the Year and served as advisor to a variety of groups on both the state and national levels.

Hicks received her associate’s degree in pre-veterinary medicine from ABAC in 1983 and both her bachelor’s and doctorate degrees from UGA. She has now been employed by ABAC for 22 years and is currently a professor of animal science. Before teaching at ABAC, she was an associate veterinarian at Branch’s Veterinary Clinic. 

She is a member of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American Cattlewomen’s Association, the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association, Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, Tift County Cattlemen’s Association, and the American Veterinary Medical Association. Hicks received the Teaching Award of Excellence from ABAC in 2008. Her community involvement includes serving as a local 4-H volunteer leader and in multiple capacities within her church as an organist, pianist, Sunday school instructor, and Girls in Action leader.

Redding attended ABAC from 1960-1962, where he was an agriculture transfer major.  He then received his bachelor’s degree in agriculture and master’s degree in agricultural education from UGA. He taught vocational agriculture for six years with the Walton County School System.

He also was assistant principal, vocational supervisor, and principal in Walton County. He then began working with the Georgia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company in Walton County, an association that has lasted 41 years.

As an educator, Redding received the Outstanding Young Educator award in 1968. As an insurance agent he was named Most Valuable Player five times, named Outstanding Agent in Claims Relations, and Master Agent.

His professional memberships include the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and Life Underwriters Training Council Fellow. His community involvement includes 25 years as a member of the Monroe Lions Club and a member of Monroe Toastmasters, where he served in all offices of the organization. He has worked for 32 years with conservation districts in promoting the National Resources Workshop held at ABAC.

Webb was a member of the ABAC staff for 28 years. He served as the Director of Admissions from 1974-2002. For a time, he also held the positions of Registrar and Director of Orientation.  Currently he is an admissions professional on a part-time basis with Young Harris College. 

Outside of his career, Webb served as past president of Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Sertoma, where he was named Sertoman of the Year in Tifton. He also served as president of his professional organization, the Georgia Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers and was recognized with the Distinguished Service Award from the organization in 2002.  At ABAC, he was the recipient of a Pacesetter award given by the student staff of The Stallion, ABAC’s college newspaper.

The Johnie Clark family of Colquitt County will be presented with the 2012 Family Legacy Award. Johnie attended ABAC classes at Spence Field in Moultrie after World War II for two semesters. He married Vera Barlow and was a farmer in Colquitt County.

They had three sons and a daughter who all attended ABAC. Three of the children’s spouses and three grandchildren have also attended ABAC, carrying on the tradition.