Decatur County Extension Agent D. Eddie McGriff will receive
the prestigious D.W.
Brooks Award for Excellence in Public Service for county
extension programming Oct. 2 in
Athens, Ga.

McGriff was cited for his leadership in one of the most
agriculturally diverse counties
in the Southeast. In 1999, farm income in Decatur County was
more
than $170 million, with
an economic impact of almost a half billion. He has been
recognized as a leader in cotton
education and is the only Georgia county agent to receive the
Cotton Foundation’s Cotton
Extension Award recognizing the nation’s top county agent.

McGriff’s reputation reaches beyond the United States. He has
led peanut tours in
Australia and Argentina and has been consulted about peanut
production problems in those
countries, as well as in Mexico and Azerbaijan. He was part of a
team of agricultural
agronomists and economists that helped during the North Korean
famine.

Nationally Known for Media
Work

McGriff’s media work has also earned him national
recognition.
His weekly newspaper
column won first-place honors from the National Association of
County Agricultural Agents,
and the state organization has awarded him 13 awards in
publications awards categories. He
worked with the local newspaper to develop a 16-page annual
agriculture review and
forecast that has been distributed statewide. He also hosts a
daily radio program that
updates county farmers on the latest agricultural news and
publishes seven commodity
newsletters.

Besides his contributions to the county as an Extension
Service agent, McGriff is also
a community service volunteer. He is an active member of the
Decatur County Chamber of
Commerce, Council for the Arts, Council for Troubled Children,
County Emergency Board and
Kiwanis Club. He serves as a deacon and Sunday school teacher
for
Bainbridge First Baptist
Church.

D.W. Brooks Awards,
Lecture

The annual Brooks awards are presented to UGA College of
Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences faculty who excel in teaching, research, extension and
international agriculture.
The awards include a framed certificate and a $5,000 cash award.
Other honorees this year
are: Steve L. Brown, for excellence in Extension programming;
Michael Dirr, teaching; John
Ruter, research; and Manjeet Chinnan, international
agriculture.

Before the awards ceremony, William F. Kirk, vice president
of
DuPont Biosolutions
Enterprise, will deliver the D.W. Brooks Lecture: “The 21st
Century — An
Agribusiness Odyssey.”

The lecture and awards are named for the late D.W. Brooks,
founder and chairman
emeritus of Gold Kist, Inc., and founder of Cotton States Mutual
Insurance Companies.
Brooks was an advisor on agriculture and trade issues to seven
U.S. presidents.