04/03/2003

Donation in AU Ag Alum's Honor Funds Comer Renovation

AUBURN, Ala. — A Perry County farmer’s 18-year stint on Gold Kist Inc.’s Board of Directors has led to a major conference-room makeover in the Auburn University College of Agriculture’s Comer Hall.

The renovation of the first-floor meeting room in Comer was funded by a $30,000 donation Gold Kist made to the College of Agriculture in honor of AU Agriculture alumnus James E. “Jim” Brady Jr. of Marion, who retired from Gold Kist’s board last year.

New paint, carpeting and furniture and the addition of computer equipment, a motorized screen and a ceiling-mounted projector have transformed the stark, ’60s-era décor of the much-used 832-square-foot room into a professional yet comfortable 21st-century meeting environment. Interim Agriculture Dean John Jensen said the Gold Kist-supported renovation goes a long way toward enhancing the College of Agriculture’s image.

“Auburn University is at the forefront of agricultural research and technology, and it was important that this conference room, which is the most visible room in Comer Hall, reflect that professional image,” Jensen said in ceremonies honoring Brady and Gold Kist and dedicating Room 109 as the James Brady Conference Room.

Brady, who graduated from Auburn in 1961 with a degree in agronomy and soils, used the dedication to stress the significance of agricultural research at Auburn.

“Agriculture in the Southeast is in a real crisis; nothing we produce here is showing a profit,” Brady said. “Research that’s done here at Auburn in the College of Agriculture and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station is what is going to bring us through this. This institution’s research is vital to the future of every farmer and every consumer in Alabama and the nation.”

Brady, a Marion catfish, cattle and row-crop farmer, served on the board of Gold Kist, the nation’s second largest chicken processor, from 1984 until 2002 and was “a great board member who always put what’s best for the company first,” Gold Kist President and CEO John Bekkers said. Atlanta-based Gold Kist, recognizing how essential agricultural research is to its success, is a strong supporter of agriculture at Auburn and at other land-grant universities through its six-state region. The cooperative’s $30,000 donation in Brady’s honor follows a $600,000 Gold Kist contribution for the new poultry science building under construction on the AU campus.

Comer Hall, located at the peak of AU’s “Ag Hill,” was built in 1922 and has never undergone major renovation. Comer currently ranks fifth on AU Facilities Division’s planned renovations of “old and historically important buildings” on Auburn’s campus. The Comer Hall project, which will maintain the integrity of the building’s architecture but will modernize it to include such essentials as handicap accessibility, adequate restroom facilities and emergency exit routes, will cost an estimated $7.6 million and tentatively is scheduled for fiscal year 2008-09, according to Facilities.

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News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
Contact Kelley Terry, 334-844-3209 or terrykl@auburn.edu

04/03/03

For immediate release