At the South Carolina Advocates for Agriculture Recognition Reception this evening (Wednesday, September 11), we recognized several people, two in particular that you recognized, Commissioner. Tell us about them.

“Well, every year we honor a public service individual and then a private industry, and we did the same this year in the public service was Dr. George Askew from Clemson, who’s had a 40+plus year career there and has been a true advocate for agriculture, not just for Clemson, but that’s his foundation, but for things beyond that, and it was a personal privilege for me because of the relationship he and I have had for most of my nearly 20 years as commissioner.”

One of the things that you said that stuck out to me when you were speaking about Dr. Askew, was that people cooperate because they have to, but they collaborate because they want to. And you mentioned that collaboration.

“Well, that’s part of the secret sauce, if you will, of some of the success we’ve had, some of the things we’ve accomplished is because of collaboration. You know, it’s got to start with at least two people. And on a lot of these initiatives, it’s started with George and myself, and that’s why, again, just a personal admiration for his attitude about public service, very giving, but also he understands his role and his responsibilities and and in leadership roles, sometimes you make tough decisions, those types of things, so no shying away from any of that, but just again, being a part of the farm team, as we like to call it, He’s been a very valuable first stringer.”

Another starter here in South Carolina was the other recipient this evening. Tell us about Jeff Wilson.

“Well, Jeff Wilson, if you’ve been to their farm and seen Cotton Hills up in Chester, just a fabulous operation, multi-dimensional, from production agriculture to retailing at several locations, but with a family of two sons involved in the operation. But it starts with Jeff. As any organization, the tone at the top impacts the results throughout. And I think Jeff, because of his giving nature, but leadership has been able to do that, not only for Cotton Hills at their home farm, but one of the reasons we honored him is his efforts in conservation with the conservation districts across South Carolina. He’s been the state president for a number of years. That’s where he and I developed a relationship, and it made me realize the valuable role that they play. And again, the tone at the top is what he has helped set for them, along with a good team, not only of the staff people, but of their executive committee. But Jeff is a very giving person, as you could hear in his resume how he has the time to do all of that is a pretty amazing thing, but two different approaches tonight. That’s one of the beauties of having two recipients, and that’s why people come out for this, because they want to hear about the folks who are being honored by the applicants.”

And quickly, it’s always encouraging to see the young people that are recognized from 4H and FFA.

“No different. Tonight, we saw several young people that were recognized for their participation and leadership, and that’s encouraging to see when you think about the future of agriculture?
Well, that’s exactly right, as we said tonight and before, it is agriculture is one of the things that ties us to the past in South Carolina to present day with all of the statistics and whatnot. But really it ties us to the future, and just like people leading our industry today, someone will need to step up, take that mantle in 10 years, 20 years, and very possibly, we’ve seen the leaders of our industry in the next decades with us, either tonight or in other initiatives like this, where young people have been involved.”

Anything you’d like to add, Commissioner?

“Well, as I said when I started, this is one of the highlights of the year for me, just because a great gathering, the slide show shows the number of people who’ve been honored, a lot of them are no longer with us, and it’s just a good moment to reflect that leadership is critical over the years And people will leave a legacy by their leadership.”

Image: SC Ag Commissioner Hugh Weathers, Jeff Wilson, Dr. George Askew, and Ronnie Summers at the 2024 SC Advocates for Agriculture Recognition Reception on Wednesday, September 11, 2024. Image courtesy SC Advocates for Agriculture