Speakers announced for Georgia Cotton Commission 12th annual meeting on Jan. 30
Published 9:28 pm Tuesday, December 18, 2018
TIFTON, Ga. — The Georgia Cotton Commission is recently announced the guest speakers at the commission’s 12th Annual Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 30, at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center. The annual meeting is held in conjunction with the UGA Cotton Production Workshop conducted by the UGA Research & Extension Cotton Team.
The UGA Cotton Production Workshop will feature breakout sessions where attendees will learn the latest technical production strategies from the researchers whose projects are funded by the Commission’s research program. The Georgia Cotton Commission Annual Meeting will follow the breakout sessions and feature speakers from several industry organizations.
The program speakers are J. Lee Cromley, Vice President, Southern Cotton Growers; K. Michael Tate, Vice Chairman, National Cotton Council of America; Bruce Atherly, Executive Director, Cotton Council International.
Lee Cromley is a cotton and peanut farmer from Brooklet, Georgia who is currently serving as Vice President of the Southern Cotton Growers, an organization that represents thousands of cotton growers throughout Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia. Cromley is also a board member for the Georgia Cotton Commission, Bulloch Gin, Bulloch County FSA, and Farmers & Merchants Bank and Board Advisor for the National Cotton Council of America. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences and has been farming with his brother Charlie since 1983.
Michael Tate is a cotton, soybean, wheat, corn, and pumpkin farmer from Huntsville, Alabama who is currently serving as the Vice Chairman of the National Cotton Council of America, the trade organization for cotton production in the United States. Tate is the former president of the Southern Cotton Growers, former chair of the American Cotton Producers, board member for Alabama Farmers Co-op and Staplcotn, and board advisor for Cotton Council International.
Bruce Atherley has a long and successful track record in global marketing and management. He previously served as Vice President, Global Marketing for Kao, Inc., a Tokyo-based global manufacturer of personal care and household products. He also worked for the William Wrigley Jr. Company, serving as its Vice President of North American Confections Marketing, President and General Manager of Wrigley Canada and Managing Director, Global Branding Services. Prior to Wrigley, he served as Vice President of Retail Marketing for the H.J. Heinz Company, President and CEO of Pet Life, Inc., Marketing Director, Black and Decker and Product Manager, Cheerios for General Mills Inc. Atherley assumed his current role as Executive Director of Cotton Council International in October 2015.
Following the Annual Meeting speakers, the Commission will host lunch where sponsors will be recognized and door prizes will be given away. The meeting, production workshop, and lunch are open to not only cotton growers, but anyone interested in the cotton industry. The UGA Cotton Production Workshop breakout sessions will be repeated after lunch.
There is no charge to attend. Pre-registration is requested to help with meal plans. Register online at www.ugatiftonconference.caes.uga.edu or call (229) 386-3416.
