By Faith Peppers
University of
Georgia
Many people see Bill Roquemore as the leading pioneer in
commercializing forage and turf grasses in Georgia. His
leadership and vision helped boost Georgia’s turf production to
a $1.56 billion industry.
His accomplishments were recognized as he was inducted
posthumously into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of
Fame Sept. 16. The Hall of Fame is a program of the
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences.
Roquemore began working at Patten Seed in 1947 and led the
company until his death in 1997. During his 50 years there, he
advanced a small seed cleaning plant into an industry giant.
“The fact that Patten Seed grew under Mr. Roquemore’s
leadership into one of the leading warm-season grass seed, sod
and sprig producers in the world is a strong statement to his
business and personal leadership ability,” said Ronnie Stapp,
executive vice-president of seed operations for Pennington
Seed, Inc., in Madison, Ga.
In the 1950s, Roquemore felt he could impact the industry by
delivering vegetative planting material, or sprigs, to farmers
across the southwestern United States. He would haul 1,000
bushels of Coastal Bermuda grass to Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas
and Louisiana. Interest in the Coastal sprigs grew, and Patten
Seed provided them for farmers from the Carolinas to Texas.
Today, Coastal Bermuda is planted on about 10 million acres in
the U.S., due largely to Roquemore’s marketing efforts. After
more than 50 years, it’s still the dominant hybrid planted.
In 1956, Tifgreen Bermuda, a fine-textured grass for golf
course greens, was introduced. Interest grew fast. It was
considered a major improvement in turf quality and a
sensational putting-green grass.
With this grass came an explosion in golf course development.
By 1968, Roquemore had planted more than 8,000 greens in
Tifgreen. Later, he made the same impacts with other Bermuda
hybrids such as Tifway, Tifdwarf and TifSport. He was also
instrumental in developing and marketing seeded centipede and
zoysia grasses.
Roquemore designed a concept to make golf appealing to the
everyday golfer. He insisted on modest entry fees and a
selection of membership dues and privileges tailored to fit the
member’s budget, leisure time and degree of club
participation.
In January of 1998, he was inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall
of Fame for his contributions to the game.
Roquemore was the mayor of Lakeland, Ga., in 1955-57. He
chaired the Lanier County Development Authority. Gov. Joe Frank
Harris appointed him to the Georgia Agricultural Exposition
Authority. And in 1996, the conference center at the Georgia
National Fairgrounds was named for him.
He was a longtime supporter of Louis Smith Hospital in
Lakeland. The hospital acknowledged him on the Sunday before
his death by naming a medical wing after him.
A World War II veteran and recipient of the Distinguished
Flying Cross, Roquemore attended North Georgia College and
joined the Army Air Corps after Pearl Harbor’s bombing. He led
the group formation of 36 to 54 bombers in the 387th Group,
which was declared to have had the best record for accuracy out
of more than 100 American bomber groups.
Roquemore became a lieutenant colonel and flew for the Air
Force Reserves after the war. After his military career, he
continued to fly, piloting his company-owned aircraft while on
business.
“It’s often said that the true measure of leadership is the
lasting impact resulting from the leader,” said Ken Morrow,
president of Sod Atlanta. “Bill Roquemore’s leadership is still
evident in the continuing success and industry leadership of
Patten Seed Company. His company continues to espouse the
values and commitment to excel that he demonstrated over a 50-
year business career.”
