MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce presented its annual awards Thursday during an online video ceremony, and the event turned into a family affair.

Jerry Vereen was named Man of the Year and his daughter, Lisa Vereen Zeanah, was named Woman of the Year. 

Meanwhile, Trey Hart followed in both of his parents’ footsteps when he brought home the Agribusiness Person of the Year Award. His father, Scott Hart, won the same award in 2002, and his mother, Virginia Hart, was named Woman of the Year in 2009.

The awards ceremony usually accompanies the chamber’s annual banquet in January, but that event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Chamber of Commerce staff surprised Vereen and Zeanah at a residence and surprised Hart at his farm to give them the traditional silver trays, and video clips of those presentations were included in Thursday’s presentation, which is available on YouTube, the chamber’s website and its Facebook page.

Man of the Year — Jerry Vereen

William Jerome “Jerry” Vereen was born and raised in Moultrie, son of W.C. “Bud” Vereen and Mary Elizabeth Bunn Vereen. After a tour of duty as a Marine captain in Vietnam, he followed his father into the leadership of Riverside Manufacturing Company. He became executive vice president and chief operating officer in 1973; was soon elected president, treasurer and chief executive officer; and later was elected chairman of the Board of Directors.

He was nominated by Jimmy Jeter and Amanda Holt.

“Whenever there is a cause in our community, Jerry is one of the first to be called,” the nomination letter said. “He has been giving of his time, his money and his talents.”

Locally, Vereen has served on the boards of directors of the United Way of Colquitt County, the Moultrie YMCA and the Colquitt County Cancer Society. He’s been on the boards of the Georgia Council of Economic Education, the American Apparel Education Foundation and the Georgia Tech School of Textile and Fiber Engineering. He participated in Leadership Georgia, Class of 1972. He volunteers on the boards of the Moultrie-Colquitt County Boys and Girls Club and the Colquitt County Arts Center.

He’s an elder of First Presbyterian Church, a member of Sunset Country Club, a past vice chairman of the board of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Kiwanis Club.

His donations — both personally and through the Vereen Family Foundation — have allowed the Moultrie YMCA to expand its facility, continue operations and support scholarships, the nomination packet said.

The Vereen Family’s support for Colquitt Regional Medical Center — dating back to the founding of its precursor in the 1930s — led to the hospital naming its rehabilitation center for in the family’s honor. 

“Jerry Vereen is a founding father for the Moultrie-Colquitt County Boys and Girls Club,” his nomination packet said. “He has served on the Board of Directors since the club was established in 2009. He served as the chairman of the board for the first five years of the organization’s existence in Moultrie. In addition to serving on the board, Jerry has received the Silver Medallion Award, Jeremiah Milbank Award and the National Service to Youth Award in his efforts to support the Boys and Girls Club.”

He was the largest donor for the 1999 Colquitt County Arts Center renovation, the nomination packet said, and the Arts Center dedicated the largest gallery in the center as the Vereen Gallery. He has also served on many committees and as the chairman of the board.

“When the center has been in need of anything, from making payroll, pay the electric bill, to needing new flooring or gallery sponsorship, Mr. Jerry Vereen was the ‘go to’ man,” the nomination said. “He has helped to keep the Art Center doors open so our community can not only serve those who excel with art, but to make our community one of the best in south Georgia to entertain and bring business.”

When the Chamber of Commerce moved to its current location — the former county jail — Vereen and his wife were instrumental in raising a million dollars to renovate the building.

Vereen was recognized by the chamber in 2012 after Riverside Manufacturing celebrated its 100th anniversary late the previous year. Just a few years later the uniform manufacturer closed its doors.

“What I would not want this community to forget is the unfaltering loyalty of Jerry Vereen to the workers and their families of Riverside Manufacturing Co.,” Jeter wrote in a letter accompanying his nomination packet. “Despite competing on a worldwide playing field that was in no way level, Mr. Vereen kept his 105-year-old company’s doors open far longer than he should have. He did it for his people … a group that at one time numbered 2,250 employees … a group that for many years was the economic engine of Moultrie and Colquitt County.”

Woman of the Year — Lisa Vereen Zeanah

Lisa Vereen Zeanah, daughter of fellow award winner Jerry Vereen, grew up in Moultrie, moved away but returned in 1995 after marrying David Zeanah. She retired in 2014 as president of Riverside Manufacturing Company, a role her father had held before her.

Zeanah was nominated by Bob Montgomery and Amanda Holt, and Montgomery praised her grace under pressure in a personal letter that accompanied the nomination.

“I watched from a distance as Lisa was given the most difficult task, as CEO, of leading Riverside Manufacturing Company through its final phase-out stage,” he wrote. “The stress was tremendous but she handled the transition with dignity.”

Montgomery also said he’d served with Zeanah on various boards over the 20 years he’s been in Moultrie. 

“On key boards like the YMCA and/or Arts Center there was always a critical shortfall and the need for effective leadership,” he wrote. “When there was a high priority Lisa’s name came up quickly as she was labeled as the ‘get it done’ person: ‘Let’s ask Lisa to lead this effort because she always exceeds her goals.’”

When Montgomery retired from South Georgia Banking Company in 2014, he was enlisted to help found SCORE South Georgia, the local branch of a national organization that mentors small businesspeople to help their businesses succeed. He quickly brought Zeanah on board.

“She excelled from the beginning,” he wrote. “When meeting with new clients it’s necessary to draw on your past successes and failures so as to mentor people successfully. She became an outstanding mentor and quickly became an asset in the growth of our local SCORE organization.”

SCORE South Georgia was tasked with mentoring farmers and ranchers, and Zeanah took charge of that aspect of the program, selecting four successful agricultural mentors. Her work helped the chapter receive grants from the national organization and from Ameris Bank to enhance the agricultural mentoring program. In 2019, Zeanah was appointed Chairman of SCORE South Georgia.

Zeanah has been a member of the Chamber of Commerce for 25 years and was named Ambassador of the Year in 1997. She participated in Leadership Colquitt County. Through the chamber, she helped at the Sunbelt Expo Exhibitors Dinner and Governor’s Luncheon and on numerous chamber fundraisers.

She sits on the Board of Directors for the United Way of Colquitt County, and United Way Director Caroline Horne wrote a letter in support of her nomination.

“Once she joined the board, she hit the ground running,” Horne wrote. Her letter said Zeanah served on an Allocation Panel her first year, then chaired a similar panel the following year. Allocation panels determine how United Way will divide up its fundraising among its member agencies.

“Her business mindset really improved our panel engagement and her passion for the community was apparent through her willingness to ask the tough questions to create a stronger partnership with our local nonprofits,” Horne wrote.

Zeanah has served on the YMCA Board of Trustees, including as chairman from 2012-2014. “She has served on the Annual Membership Campaign almost every year, usually selling the most memberships,” her nomination packet said. The packet pointed to her role in organizing the Bud Vereen Golf Tournament, named for her grandfather, which is one of the Moultrie Y’s largest fundraisers. “Lisa has sold thousands of Spookgetti Dinner tickets, antique show and dinner tickets, and countless other fundraiser tickets, received donations and sold memberships for the YMCA.”

She was also instrumental in the 1999 renovation of the Arts Center. She was project chairman through the Moultrie Service League, which raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the renovation. Her volunteer and financial support for the Arts Center have continued right up to today.

Zeanah joined the Board of Directors for the Colquitt Regional Medical Foundation in 2020. As a board member, her primary function will be to guide efforts to raise and manage funds for Colquitt Regional Medical Center. Before that — in 2013 — she was instrumental in securing funds and support to open the Vereen Rehabilitation Center at Colquitt Regional.

She serves as a deacon at First Presbyterian Church and has previously served on the Moultrie-Colquitt County Economic Development Authority.

Agribusiness Person of the Year — Trey Hart

Trey Hart, son of educator and farmer Scott Hart and home economics teacher Virginia Hart, returned home from the University of Georgia to farm alongside his father.

“Trey always knew he wanted to farm,” according to his nomination packet from Greta Collins of Colquitt County Farm Bureau. “After college he returned home and began farming with his dad adding land and equipment as he could. As time went on, the roles began to reverse, and Trey took the primary role in farm leadership and his dad’s role transitioned to one of support.”

Hart’s farm consists of 180 acres of peanuts, 511 acres of cotton, two acres of strawberries and a cow-calf operation with 100 cows and several bulls.

“Building an operation as a young farmer is not easy,” the nomination packet said. “Competition for resources like land and water combined with high input costs make successful farming a daunting task, but the events of 2018 and 2020 challenged even the most seasoned and stable farm operations.

“In 2018, Trey was poised to pick the best cotton crop of his career when it was destroyed by Hurricane Michael. 2019 was a rebuilding year, and Trey approached 2020 with optimism. The strawberry crop was looking to be a good start when COVID-19 shut down school systems. School systems normally account for 80% of strawberry sales.

“With ripe strawberries in the field, Trey had to pivot quickly or face tremendous losses,” the nomination information said. “Trey turned to his niece, and they devised a social media marketing plan. They targeted areas outside of Moultrie including engaging groups like ‘Tallahassee Foodies.’ They marketed the farm as a place where families could socially distance, enjoy time outside and enjoy a top-quality product. … At the end of the season, the farm never discarded berries, and the transformation resulted in 95% of 2020 sales coming from you-pick and on-farm purchases.”

An accompanying letter from Shawn Collins, former agriculture teacher at Colquitt County High School, referenced Hart’s resilience in the face of the hurricane and the pandemic too, but it also spotlighted his contributions to CCHS’s Work Based Learning Program.

“As an agriculture teacher at Colquitt County High School I sent young men to Ochlocknee Ridge Farms in the beginning [of] the ‘work study’ now called Work Based Learning Program. I found the Hart men, especially Trey, did more than work the boys as a hired hand. In the beginning many students did not understand that at Ochlocknee Ridge Farms was an extension of school because Trey was teaching the boys how to become men, so they eventually would be able to operate their own agricultural enterprise.

“After several years Trey assisted in modifying school agricultural lessons and labs to make eligible students for the school’s Work Based Learning Program more desirable by identifying essential skills needed by employees starting at a farming operation in Colquitt County,” Collins wrote. “Today, the Work Based Learning Program has more demand for good ‘farm ready boys’ than available, which at one time we needed farmers willing to take someone on to give them some work-related experience.”

Hart has been involved with Farm Bureau for nearly 20 years. In 2005 he served as a Young Farmer representative and went on to represent Colquitt County and ultimately Georgia in the Discussion Meet. In 2006 he was selected as a director for the Colquitt County Farm Bureau, and he continues as an active director today. He represented Colquitt County Farm Bureau during a legislative visit to Washington, D.C., and he supports Farm Bureau programming, such as Ag in the Classroom and Certified Farm Market.

In addition to Farm Bureau, he’s an active member of the West Colquitt County Chapter of Georgia Young Farmers, where he has held several leadership positions, including president. He’s a 2019 graduate of the High Potential Leaders Program sponsored by the Colquitt County Archway Partnership.

As a youth and young adult, Hart dove with Moss Farms Diving and the University of Georgia. As a 13-year-old he was the national champion on the 3-meter springboard, qualifying him to represent the United States at the Can-Am-Mex Championships, where he took gold on the 3-meter, silver on the 1-meter and bronze on the platform. Despite bouts of vertigo, he was named a High School All American all four years of his high school career. Diving for UGA, he had third- and fourth-place platform finishes at the SEC Championships, qualified for the NCAA Championships and earned honorable mention All-American Status from the NCAA. He was induced into the Colquitt County Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.