April 3, 2025
www.gfb.org
Vol. 7 No. 7
BRIDGES, EVANS INDUCTED TO GEORGIA AGRICULTURAL HALL OF FAME A visionary leader in agricultural education and research and a stalwart agricultural industry supporter and business leader were inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame on March 21 at the 69th University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) Alumni Association Awards and Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame Ceremony at The Classic Center in Athens. The 2025 honorees are David Bridges, a former assistant dean for CAES at UGA’s Tifton campus, and Ralph Evans, a business and peanut industry leader whose family has been serving the agricultural community since 1922. A legacy of agricultural education and rural advocacy A former CAES assistant dean, David Bridges continues to advocate for rural communities as interim director of Georgia’s Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovation. Bridges, a native of rural Georgia, has dedicated his career to advancing agricultural education and research. His roots in Terrell County have profoundly influenced his life's work, instilling in him a deep commitment to rural communities and agricultural development. Bridges' research, advocacy, leadership and program development have significantly impacted Georgia's agricultural landscape. His expertise in defending the safety and demand for Georgia peanuts earned him recognition from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Georgia Peanut Commission, which awarded him a Distinguished Service Award. His pioneering work on weed control in tobacco led to the registration of two novel herbicides for use in Georgia tobacco fields. As the assistant dean for CAES on the UGA Tifton campus, Bridges was instrumental in establishing undergraduate degrees and increasing the number of graduate students in Tifton. He also oversaw construction of the C.M. Stripling Irrigation Research Park and the Tifton Campus Conference Center. He has served as a regulatory consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In 1994, Bridges was appointed by thenPresident Bill Clinton to the Agriculture Board of the President's Council on Sustainable Development. In 2006, Bridges became the 10th president of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. He -continued on next page