01/14/2003

Ag Alumni Association to Bestow Hall of Honor, Pioneer Awards

AUBURN, Ala. – Five men who have made significant contributions to Alabama agriculture will be honored in February by the Auburn University Agricultural Alumni Association.

William A. “Bill” Jordan of Fort Payne, John T. “Tom” Ingram of Opelika and Pete Turnham of Auburn all will receive the association’s Hall of Honor awards, which are given annually to living Alabamians who have made significant contributions to Alabama agriculture. The late Homer B. Tisdale and William D. Salmon also will be honored posthumously as Pioneer Award winners for their contributions to the state’s agricultural sector.

Jordan owned and operated Jordan Hatchery, Inc., the largest privately owned hatchery in the United States, for 35 years until he sold it in1995. He continued to work in the poultry industry as regional manager of Cumberland Hatchery Systems until he retired in 1999. Retirement did not bring a lull to his busy schedule, however. These days, he is serving as mayor of Fort Payne.

Ingram, a native of Lee County, graduated from Auburn University in 1950 with a degree in agricultural education. He has farmed cotton in the Marvyn community for more than 50 years, starting his farming career in 1946 just after returning from World War II.

Turnham, who served as state representative from House District 79 for 40 years, grew up on a farm in Chambers County and was active in 4-H and FFA as a youth. He received a bachelor's degree in 1944, a master's degree in 1948 and an honorary degree in 1994, all from Auburn University. He also served as a dairy specialist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System from 1948 to 1954.

Salmon, a native of Kentucky, was a nutritionist in Auburn University’s Department of Animal Sciences who made major contributions to the field of knowledge in nutrition and biochemistry. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky and his graduate degrees from the University of Missouri before joining the Auburn faculty in 1922, where he served as a faculty member for 43 years and twice served as head of the AU Department of Animal Husbandry (now Animal Sciences).

Tisdale received his bachelor’s degree from Auburn (then called the Alabama Polytechnic Institute) and did graduate work at Cornell University. He spent 42 years in the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station at Auburn as an agronomist and plant breeder, focusing his efforts on cotton. Tisdale is credited with helping save the cotton industry in the Southeast during the 1950s by developing “Auburn 56” cotton, which was disease- and pest-resistant and became an industry standard.

All five men will be honored during the Ag Alumni Association’s annual banquet, to be held Feb. 18 at the AU Hotel and Dixon Conference Center in Auburn. Registration begins at 6:30 p.m.; the banquet is at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 per person and can be reserved by sending a check to Ag Alumni Association, 107 Comer Hall, Auburn University, AL 36849-5401. For more information on the banquet or the awards, contact Martha Patterson at 334-844-3595.

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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 Martha Patterson, 334-844-3595 or mspatter@acesag.auburn.edu

01/14/03

For immediate release