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News from |
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Michael
D. Chason Director
of Public Relations ABAC
30, 2802 Moore Hwy |
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For IMMEDIATE
Release February 22, 2010
ABAC ALUMNI TO BE HONORED ON MARCH
6
TIFTON—
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 6 at 10 a.m. in Howard Auditorium on the ABAC campus.
Open
to anyone who would like to attend at no charge, the event will recognize ABAC
alumni who impacted the college and their communities in significant
ways. For more information on the Celebrate ABAC weekend, contact the
ABAC College Advancement office at (229) 391-4900 or visit the web site at www.abac.edu/celebrateabac.
ABAC
Alumni Association award winners this year include Dr. Paul Newberne
from Bedford, Mass., and Dr. James Newberne from
Cincinnati, Ohio, Distinguished Alumni; Beth Bland from LaGrange, Outstanding
Young Alumnus; John Harrell from Whigham, Master
Farmer; Nancy Coleman from Moultrie, Helen B. Sasser
award; Louis Perry from Moultrie, J. Lamar Branch award; T. Lynn Barber from
Manor, Outstanding Educator; Rodney McDonald from Nicaragua, Outstanding
Business Leader; Dr. Jay Phillips from Tifton, Outstanding Health Care
Professional; and Ann Hammons from Tifton and Dr. Eddie Seagle from Tifton,
Honorary Alumnus awards.
Dr.
Paul Newberne attended ABAC from 1937 – 1939. He went on to receive his Ph.D. and doctorate
of veterinary medicine from Auburn University and a Ph.D. in nutritional
biochemistry from the University of Missouri.
He served as assistant professor in the Alabama Agriculture Experiment
Station; a Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Pathology at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT); and served at The Mallory Institute of Pathology
at Boston University’s School of Medicine. The research program he established at MIT in
experimental chemical carcinogenesis established him as an international leader
in the field. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the Chulabhorn
Research Institute in Bangkok and was an advisor to research foundations and
medical schools in Istanbul, India, and Brazil.
He is a donor to the ABAC Foundation scholarship and as a student he was
a member of the Jazz Band.
Dr.
James Newberne, brother of Dr. Paul Newberne, attended ABAC from 1939 – 1941. He received his master’s
degree from Auburn University and his Ph.D. in toxicology from Pacific Western
University. He is one of the scientists who
helped in the advancement of the polio vaccine. Before his retirement he served
as vice president and director of global regulatory affairs and drug safety
assessment at Merrell Dow Research Institute in Cincinnati, OH. He also served on various other professional committees,
was the official consultant to the French Ministry of Health, and was chairman
of the National Conference of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians. His contributions to ABAC include helping to
create the ABAC Jazz Band and his donations to support ABAC’s music programs
and general scholarships.
Bland,
a Tift County High School graduate, attended ABAC from 1997 – 1999 where she
served as president of the ABAC Ambassadors and was active in the ABAC Baptist
Student Union, Student Government Association, and the choir. She went on to the University of Georgia
where she earned her bachelor’s degree in 2002 in agricultural communication and
her master’s degree in food science in 2005.
Upon graduating from UGA, she has worked for the Georgia Fruit and
Vegetable Grower Association and the Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission
for Vegetables. Nationally, she serves on
the United Fresh Produce Association Board and is working with the USDA and FDA
to create a harmonized food safety audit for the produce industry. She also implemented the 2009 Global
Conference on Produce Food Safety Standards for the international produce
industry to educate in food safety auditing schemes.
Harrell
attended ABAC from 1973 – 1975, majoring first in pharmacy before he changed
his major to agriculture. The Whigham
native is a fifth generation farmer. The
farm has been in his family for over 100 years and is still a family affair
that includes his brother, son, and wife.
In 1975 he, along with his father and brother, formed Douglas Harrell
and Sons. His family was named the 1994
Grady Chamber of Commerce Farm Family of the Year. He is a graduate of the Georgia AgriLeaders
Program. His professional memberships
include the Georgia Peanut Commission, Georgia and Grady County Farm Bureaus, and
service on the agricultural advisory committees of senators Johnny Isakson,
Zell Miller, and Paul Coverdell.
Coleman
received her associate’s degree in home economics from ABAC in 1975 and her
bachelor’s and master’s degrees in home economics from the University of
Georgia. In 1984 she joined ABAC as the college’s first
and only fulltime Alumni Director. She retired in 2008. Her achievements include serving as president
of the Georgia Cotton Women for several terms; president of the Georgia Farm
Family Health and Safety, Inc.; and graduate and former board member of the
Georgia Agri-Leaders Forum. She received
Woman of the Year in Georgia Agriculture in 2001 and in 1993 her family was
named Georgia’s Outstanding Young Farm Family. Now living in Colquitt County, she
is a member of the ABAC’s President’s Club.
Perry
received his degree from ABAC in 1959 in Animal Science. He went on to the
University of Georgia where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness in
1961. His professional honors include
Colquitt County Farmer of the Year and the Southern Cotton Growers Service Award. He has served on the Georgia Cotton
Commission, Cotton Incorporated, Georgia Cattleman’s
Association and has been on the UGA Ag Dean’s Advisory board since its
inception. He is the owner of Pineywoods
Farms since he graduated from UGA. His
community and charitable involvement include serving as Chairman of the Board
for Pineland School, founder of the Schley Louis Perry, Sr. /Pineywoods Farm Memorial Scholarship at UGA, and a member
of both the ABAC and UGA President’s Clubs.
Barber
attended ABAC from 1992 – 1994. He then
continued his college career by earning a BSA in Agricultural Education in 1996
and his master’s in the same field in 1999. He is currently studying for his doctorate in
Adult and Career Education at Valdosta State University. Barber has worked as a teacher since 1996,
first at Wayne County High School and currently at Ware Magnet School in
Waycross. He has been named Teacher of the Year three times and was the Georgia
Vocational Ag Teachers’ Association Outstanding Educator in 2009. He is active in community organizations
including Boy Scouts of America and serves as pastor of Gilchrist Park United
Methodist Church in Waycross.
McDonald
was an agriculture business major at ABAC from 1984-1985. He served in the
Peace Corps in Nicaragua from 2002 – 2004.
He returned home to Bonaire but missed Latin America and in 2008 he went
back to live in Nicaragua. He realized
that there were no efficient response resources in the area so he founded the
Emergency Response System of Latin America (ERSLA) to create a sustainable,
trained, and equipped volunteer emergency and prevention system in Latin
America. McDonald has an associate of
fine arts degree in photography from the Art Institute of Atlanta. He and his wife, Gio, still reside in
Nicaragua.
Phillips
attended ABAC from 1987-88. He received
his bachelor’s degree at Valdosta State University in 1990 and then received
his Doctor of Dental Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia in 1994. He owns and practices dentistry with Tift
Regional Dental Group. He was named the
Outstanding Young Alumnus at ABAC in 2001 and was named an Honorable Fellow of
the Georgia Dental Association in 2004.
He has served on the ABAC Alumni Board of Directors since 2005. He and
his wife, Leigh, have two children – Hayden (8) and Reid (5).
Seagle
received his bachelor’s degree in horticulture in 1975 from the University of
Georgia, his master’s degree in ornamental horticulture and landscape design
from the University of Tennessee in1978, and his doctorate in occupational
studies in 2001. He was promoted to
Assistant Professor in 1980; received tenure in 1986; was promoted to Associate
Professor in 1993; and promoted to Professor in 2002. Some of his honors while
at ABAC include the W. Bruce Donaldson teaching excellence award in 1997 and
the Regents’ Distinguished Professor for Teaching and Learning Award for the
1997-1998 year.
Hammons
taught in the ABAC division of social sciences from 1962 – 1984. She earned her bachelor’s degree in history
in 1947 and her master’s in history in 1948 from Mississippi State
University. She served as a teacher at Sartinsville Mississippi
School from 1939-1940 and taught at Tifton Junior High School from 1955 – 1963. She served as an ABAC instructor from 1963 –
1965, was promoted and served as an assistant professor from 1965 – 1969 and as
associate professor from 1969 – 1984. She retired in 1984 after 21 years of
distinguished service to ABAC.
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