By Chowning Johnson
University of Georgia
Stephen J. Brannen and William L. Lanier Sr. were inducted into
the Georgia
Agricultural Hall of Fame Sept. 17 at the University of
Georgia in Athens, Ga.
The two were honored during the UGA College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences Agricultural Alumni Association dinner.
Their portraits will be displayed in the CAES Activity Center on
the UGA campus in Athens.
Since 1972, the CAES alumni have honored Georgians who have
greatly contributed to agriculture by inducting them into the
Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame. This year’s event also
recognized the alumni association’s 50th anniversary.
Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin and Georgia Farm
Bureau President Wayne Dollar were also honored during the event.
Steve Brannen
Brannen earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UGA and a
Ph.D. in agricultural economics at North Carolina State. He
returned to UGA as an assistant county agent. He became an
Extension economist, farm management specialist and Extension
economics department head. In 1967, he received the agricultural
alumni outstanding teacher award.
For more than 27 years, Brannen chaired the UGA division of
agricultural economics. Under his leadership, the division was
presented Farm Credit Banks of Columbia’s Medallion Award. He
received a special Georgia Farm Bureau award for his
contributions to agricultural marketing.
Brannen founded the Georgia Agribusiness Council and the Georgia
Society of Farm Managers and Appraisers. He published “Farm
Economic Briefs” and contributed to Georgia’s Farm Record Book
and the Farm Income Tax Guide.
He was a consultant and advisor for the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Coastal Plains Regional Commission, Opekasit Inc.,
Commodity Credit Corporation, Financial Services Inc. and Farm
Credit Banks of Columbia.
Brannen is a member of Gamma Sigma Delta, AGHON, American
Agricultural Economics Association and International Association
for Agricultural Economists. He is a charter member and former
secretary, treasurer and president of the Georgia Society of Farm
Managers and Rural Appraisers.
Bill Lanier
Lanier grew up in Candler County, Ga. He graduated from Abraham
Baldwin Agricultural College and UGA with a bachelor’s degree in
agronomy. He was twice named “Who’s Who Among Students in
American Universities and Colleges.”
As a member of the Georgia Legislature, Lanier wrote more farm
and consumer protection legislation than anyone else in Georgia’s
history. He chaired the House Agriculture Committee in 1954-1958
and drafted many amendments and legislative acts that have helped
improve Georgia’s agriculture.
Lanier was appointed to the U.S. President’s Consumer Advisor
Board.
He served on advisory boards and in other roles for C&S National
Bank, Southern Boosters, Agriculture Public Relations Committee,
Cotton Inc., Tobacco Stabilization Corporation, American Farm
Bureau, Altamaha-Georgia Southern Area Planning and Development
Commission, Eterna Club, U.S./U.S.S.R. Exchange Team, Boy Scouts
of America, National Cotton Council, Pineland State Bank, Candler
County Hospital and the CAES Alumni Association.
Lanier was awarded Man of the Year in Georgia Agriculture by
Progressive Farmer Magazine. He earned many other honor,
including “Mr. Baldwin,” “Georgia Tree Farmer of the Year,”
“Citizen of the Year” and “Conservation Man of the Year.”
Irvin, Dollar
CAES dean and director Gale Buchanan presented engraved crystal
octagons to Irvin and Dollar to commemorate their distinguished
service to Georgia agriculture.
“Commissioner Irvin and President Dollar have not only
orchestrated dollars to enhance our teaching, research and
extension mission of the college, they have supported our state
budget and legislative requests,” Buchanan said. “And they have
worked behind the scenes to ensure that we remain a productive
land-grant institution.”
Buchanan attributed the success of the CAES to the strong
partnership among the college, Farm Bureau and the Department of
Agriculture.
Irvin and his wife Bernice fund the Tommy Irvin Scholarship.
Through the Department of Agriculture and Georgia Seed
Development Commission, he also helped fund an eminent scholar in
biotechnology and seed development. He is already a member of the
Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame.
Through Dollar’s leadership, the Georgia Farm Bureau has
sponsored and supported student activities such as Georgia 4-H
and many CAES events.
(Chowning Johnson is a student writer with the University of
Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)
