04/13/2005

Ag Week Celebration Set at Auburn

AUBURN , Ala. — An Ag Hill picnic, a barn dance and a blood drive will be among the activities the Auburn University College of Agriculture will sponsor April 18-23 as part of the first official Auburn Agriculture Week.

AU Interim President Ed Richardson signed a proclamation April 13 designating the week as a way of recognizing the important role agriculture plays in the daily lives of students and the general public and of advancing a greater appreciation of agriculture and the College of Agriculture across the campus.

The picnic, to be catered by the AU Meat Science Club, will be held Wednesday, April 20, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the front lawn of Comer Hall. A barbecue lunch, complete with potato salad, baked beans, bread, dessert and tea, will be served. Tickets, at $6 each, can be purchased in advance in the College of Ag dean's office in Comer Hall or at the picnic the day of the event.

Also on April 20, the college will host a blood drive at Comer from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The barn dance is slated for Thursday, April 21, 8-11 p.m., at the Ham Wilson Livestock Arena on Donahue Drive . Dress for the free event is blue jeans, boots and cowboy hats.

Events for the week will kick off Monday, April 17, at 6 p.m. when Alicia Phillips, a College of Ag alum who now is director of the Alabama Agribusiness Council, will speak on agricultural career opportunities. Her presentation, cosponsored by the college and the Auburn Agricultural Alumni Association's Contemporary Agriculture Program, will be held in Comer Hall's Hood Auditorium. Pizza and drinks will be served.

Rounding out the week will be the AU Block & Bridle Club's annual showmanship competition Friday, April 22, at 6 p.m. at the Ham Wilson Livestock Arena.

Bill Alverson, assistant dean of the college, said Auburn Agriculture Week unofficially began a few years ago when several ag-related events fell in the same week. This is the first year it has been formally designated Auburn Ag Week.

“Ag Week gives our students the opportunity to hear outstanding speakers, be involved in community service projects and enjoy social events with faculty and friends,” Alverson said.

For more information on the week's events, contact Kylie Harper at harpekr@auburn.edu or Grace Smith at smitmgr@auburn.edu .

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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 Katie Smith Jackson, 334-844-5887 or smithcl@auburn.edu
Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
Contact Lesley C. Bebeau, bebealc@auburn.edu

For immediate release