BY: MICHAEL SHIPMA

The Farm-City Committee of the Pike County Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Pike County Farm-City Banquet on Thursday at the Pike County Cattleman’s Association.

The packed-out event featured home-cooked food, as well as guest speakers and an award ceremony for individuals who embody their awards within the Pike County farm and city communities.

“This banquet is a culmination of a lot of different activities that we hold in the fall each year,” said Randy Hale, chair of the 2015 Farm-City Committee. “We put on things such as tours, job swaps and days for children, where we recognize the farm and the rural public for its products of the land, while also recognizing urban dwellers with businesses which provide goods and services. The two sides partner together to produce food and fiber, which the public then buys, in turn making it a win-win for all involved.”

Hale started off the evening by welcoming the crowd of farmers, businessmen and their families alongside fellow committee member Tammy Powell. Following the introduction and invocation, Councilman Charlie Dunn Sr. led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Powell then introduced guests of the event, gave a special recognition of the members of the Farm-City Committee, the Troy Kiwanis Club and a number of international and agriculture students, many of which have been raised in the community and are learning the skills necessary to keep the agriculture and business of Pike County and beyond flourishing.

Following an introduction from Hale, John McMillan, the commissioner of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, took the podium to discuss the history of the relationship between the agriculture and business communities in Pike County, as well as what they cooperatively strive to be.

Jim Roling, a Troy native and radio broadcaster for WTBF, came forward to present numerous awards to those that the Farm-City Committee felt most deserving for their contributions to the agriculture and business communities.

“Each of these award winners has an application that they need to fill out that is directly related to what they are being nominated for,” Powelll explained on the selection process. “Each of these applications gets filled out and is placed before the committee, at which point the judges select the best out of those applications.”

Beth Rose, also a member of the Farm-City committee, said that these award winners, particularly the younger recipients, are the future of what the Farm-City committee is seeking to accomplish locally and beyond.

Pike County has started a group of academies, Rose said. One of these is the Ag-Science Academy, which gives high school students the opportunity to become involved with an academic program that will lead them into any number of ag-science careers in the future.

“I think these awards are a really great thing,” Rose said. “It shows how many leaders we have in agriculture and in the city government. It also shows how vital agriculture is, the impact it has economically, and its ability for sustaining futures.

“We’re really excited for the future,” Rose continued. “Pike County is forging a new area in the state for education as it relates to agriculture.”

The list of awards and their recipients of the 2015 Farm-City Banquet are as follows:

-Century Farm Award – Renfroe Preservation, Carter Hill Farm

-Female Youth Award – Amber Shirley

-Male Youth Award – Josh Graham

-Conservation Award – Jesse Ray Wheeler

-Poultry Award – Billy Wesley

-Beef Award – Don Campbell

-Specialty Crop Producer Award – Calvin and Tammy Buzzan

-Timber Award – Ebbin Register

-Young Farmer Award – Halston Motes

-Row-Crop Award – Shaver Land and Cattle (Jim & Curtis Shaver)

-Service to Agriculture-City Award – Golden Boy Foods

-Service to Agriculture – Bobby Catrett