The Carroll County Chamber of Commerce and the Agribusiness Council hosted the annual Harvest Dinner on October 5 at the Carroll County Agriculture Center. This yearly event highlights agriculture and business partnerships in Carroll County. The evening honored several accomplished leaders in the agricultural area who have made significant contributions to our community: Jutt and Natalie Howard of NG Turf received the Outstanding Agribusiness Award. Heather Henry of Everything Outdoors was named Outstanding Business of the Year. Preston Hendrix received the Outstanding Young Farmer Award.
In addition to the awards, the event featured Michael Waddell, the Man from Booger Bottom and star of the Outdoor Channel’s hunting show “Bone Collector, as the guest speaker.
Chamber Chairman Jay Gill, Vice President of Communications and Economic Development with Carroll EMC, said, “The Harvest Dinner showcases our community’s rich agricultural heritage and the tremendous economic impact of our agricultural industry. This was a tremendous evening of fellowship and an opportunity to celebrate the incredible success of agriculture in Carroll County.”
“It was great to get everything together to celebrate agribusiness and its ongoing contributions to our county and the entire state,” said Agribusiness Council Chair Sam Duke, President of Agrimerica Farm and Construction LLC. “We are truly blessed and fortunate to have such outstanding leadership generation after generation.”
Michael Waddell spoke about the richness of Carroll County’s agriculture industry, noting that the commitment and hard work of those in farming and other agricultural sectors exemplifies what America is all about. “Every day, we get up and have to decide if we want to be an asset or a liability, and this room is full of assets,” he said. Michael knows this area well; he grew up in Georgia and has seen the impact of agriculture in communities throughout the state.
This year’s Harvest Dinner was sponsored by Agrimerica, AgSouth Farm Credit, Barnes Store, Carroll EMC, Carrollton Office Equipment, Farm Bureau Carroll County, Jordan Truck Sales, Mike Bell Chevrolet, NG Turf, Pugmire Ford, and Carroll County UGA Extension. Under the supervision and direction of Ryan Dodson and David Huddleston, the Carroll County Young Farmers and the Carroll County FFA members provided and served dinner to over two hundred guests.
Since 1966, the Harvest Dinner has been a staple in Carroll County with 178 local award winners. Carroll County had long been recognized for its rich agricultural history. According to the 2017 Census Report, Carroll County is home to nearly 900 farms covering over 85,000 acres. The Carroll County Chamber of Commerce is proud to partner with the agricultural community.
For additional information on the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, please visit their website at www.carroll-ga.org.
