News        from ABAC

Michael D. Chason Director of Public Relations ABAC 30 -- 2802 Moore Highway Tifton, GA 31793-2601 Phone 229-391-5055 Fax 229-391-4781 mchason@abac.edu

IMMEDIATE APRIL 15, 2008

TOP FACULTY, STAFF, ADMINISTRATOR, ADVISOR HONORED AT ABAC

TIFTON—The top faculty member, staff member, administrator, and academic advisor for the 2007-2008 100^th birthday year were recognized during Wednesday’s Honors Day ceremony at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

The college also awarded 87 scholarships and announced division and discipline award winners during the Gressette Gym ceremony.

For the first time ever, a husband and wife captured two of the top awards.  Lorie Felton, an associate professor in the Division of Agriculture and Forest Resources, was selected for the W. Bruce and Rosalyn Ray Donaldson Award for Teaching Excellence, and her husband, Jimmy, a horticulturist assistant in the Division of Agriculture and Forest Resources, received the Roy R. Jackson Award for Staff Excellence.

Andrea Willis, chair of the Division of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, received the E. Lanier Carson Leadership Award as the college’s top administrator, and Tami Dennis, an assistant professor in the Division of Nursing, received the W. Bruce and Rosalyn Ray Donaldson Excellence in Advising Award.

Lorie Felton earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in horticulture from Auburn University.  She has been a faculty member at ABAC since 1992, often using the entire campus as a laboratory where her students identify various trees, shrubs, and flowers.

Felton was named Educator of the Year by the Georgia Green Industry in January.  She participated in the Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program last summer.  Felton received a plaque and a check for $5,000.

Employed at ABAC for over 15 years, Jimmy Felton lends a helping hand to many campus events including the Ag Classic Golf Tournament, the ABAC exhibit at the Sunbelt Expo, Homecoming and the Mr. ABAC contest. He received his certification from ABAC as a Turfgrass Equipment Technician in 2005.

Felton also assists with many classes in the horticulture curriculum and helps with activities with the Turf Club and Horticulture Club.  He received a check for $1,250 and a plaque.

Willis earned her associate degree from Brunswick Junior College and her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in health and physical education from Georgia Southern College.  She has been a faculty member at ABAC since 1974.

Willis has served on the Goizueta Foundation Scholarship Committee, the Governor’s Committee for Customer Service, and the ABAC Alumni Association Board of Directors.  She is an advisor to the Student Government Association and chaired the search committee for the Vice President for Academic Affairs.  She received a check for $1,250 and a plaque.

Dennis received her associate degree in nursing from ABAC and then earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from Valdosta State University.  A Moultrie resident, Dennis advises nursing students at ABAC on the Square in Moultrie and on the main campus in Tifton.

Dennis began her ABAC career in 2001 as an adjunct clinical instructor in the nursing division.  She received a check for $1,250, a plaque, and an all expenses paid trip to the National Academic Advising Association national conference in Chicago in the fall.

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