Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, Morch 24, 2021 /Page 4A
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Vidalia Onions Will Ship on April 19
The Georgia Depart
ment of Agriculture and
the Vidalia Onion Com
mittee (VOC) announced
that the pack date for the
2021 season is April 19.
The organizations are also
celebrating the 35th anni
versary of legislation that
helped to make Vidalia
onions beloved by mil
lions of fans across the
country
A rite of spring for its
legends of devotees, the
announcement of the pack
date means shoppers will
soon be able to purchase
Vidalia onions, which are
available only for a limited
time each year.
The date is deter
mined each year by an
advisory panel comprised
of Vidalia industry mem
bers, state agriculture
scientists and the De
partment of Agriculture.
Soil and weather condi
tions in South Georgia are
taken into consideration
to select the date to help
ensure only the highest-
quality onions end up on
consumers’ plates.
"It is a special moment
every year when we an
nounce the Vidalia onions
pack date, but this year we
will mark the passage of
the 1986 Vidalia Onion
Act by our state legisla
ture that played a defining
role in making our state’s
official vegetable an iconic
brand recognized around
the world," said Georgia
Agriculture Commis
sioner Gary Black. "I am
pleased to announce April
19 as the 2021 pack date
for Vidalia onions."
First identified in the
1930s, Vidalia onions
quickly grew in popularity
over the next few decades.
The Vidalia Onion Act es
tablished that only sweet
onions grown in 20 South
Georgia counties from a
distinctive Granex seed
and packed and sold on or
after the official pack date
each year could be called
Vidalia onions.
Three years later, the
U.S. Department of Agri
culture provided federal
protection to the onion
and created the VOC to
support marketing and
research initiatives. In
1992, the state of Georgia
became the official owner
of the Vidalia onion trade
mark.
For the 2021 season,
approximately 10,000
acres of Vidalia onions
were planted, according
to VOC Chairman Ar
ies Haygood. "We are an
ticipating a good harvest,
and consumers across the
country should have am
ple supply throughout the
season," said Haygood.
Known for its sweet,
mild flavor and treasured
by cooks nationwide, the
vegetable is hand-cultivat
ed by 60 registered grow
ers. They represent about
40 percent of the sweet
onion market and are sold
in every state.
L to R: 2021 Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year William Greene, STC President Larry Cal
houn, and 2021 GOAL Student of the Year Claudia Martinez Wilson.
Vidalia Onion Committee
Names John Shuman
Grower of the Year
TOP GROWER — John Shuman, a second generation
Vidalia Onion Farmer who operates Shuman Farms in
Cobbtown, was named 2020 Grower of the Year by the
Vidalia Onion Committee.
John Shuman, presi
dent and CEO of Shu
man Farms in Cobbtown,
has been named the 2020
Grower of the Year by the
Vidalia Onion Committee
(VOC). Shuman was cited
for his contributions to the
industry for more than 25
years.
Following in the foot
steps of his father, Buck
Shuman, who began grow
ing Vidalia onions in the
1980s, John Shuman took
over his family’s farm in
the early 1990s, rebuilding
it from the ground up fol
lowing the national farm
crisis of the previous de
cade. Today Shuman Farms
is one of the largest growers
of Vidalia onions in North
America.
A graduate of Georgia
Southern University with
a bachelor’s degree in busi
ness administration, Shu
man has served as VOC
chairman, chairman of the
board of the Southeast Pro
duce Council and a mem
ber of the Georgia Ports
Authority Board of Direc
tors.
In addition to his busi
ness success, in 2002, Shu
man founded Produce for
Kids, now Healthy Fam
ily Project, which has raised
more than $7 million to
benefit children and fami
lies. Shuman Farms also
provides annual donations
to Feeding America and
the Breast Cancer Research
Foundation.
“In the last quarter
century, John has played a
leading role in building the
Vidalia onion brand to be
come the country’s most
iconic vegetable,” said Aries
Haygood, VOC chairman.
“But even more important
ly, John and his family have
devoted considerable time
and energy giving back to
the community.”
Shuman said, “I am
honored and humbled to
be recognized by the Vida
lia onion industry to receive
one of our highest awards. I
have been fortunate to have
had the support of my wife,
Lana, as well as the advice
and counsel from some of
the most respected Vidalia
onion growers in the state.”
He added, “As you
know, it takes a village to do
what we do, so this award
goes to everyone at Shuman
Farms. I want to especially
thank my brother Mark for
his dedication and leader
ship.”
First discovered in
the 1930s, Vidalia onions
quickly grew in popularity
over the next few decades.
Under a combination of
federal regulations and
Georgia state laws, only
sweet onions grown in 20
South Georgia counties
from a distinctive Granex
seed and packed and sold
on or after the official pack
date each year could be
called Vidalia onions.
Known for its sweet,
mild flavor and treasured by
cooks nationwide, the veg
etable is hand-cultivated by
60 registered growers. Vida
lia onions represent about
40 percent of the sweet on
ion market and are sold in
every state.
Greene and Wilson Chosen as
Southeastern Tech’s 2021 Rick
Perkins and GOAL Winners
William ‘Chip’
Greene, Electronics Tech
nology Instructor, has
been awarded Southeast
ern Technical College’s
(STC) Rick Perkins In
structor of the Year, and
Claudia Martinez Wil
son, a Medical Assisting
student from Emanuel
County, has been named
the College’s winner of
the Georgia Occupation
al Award of Leadership
(GOAL).
The announcement
of winners was made at
Southeastern Tech’s 2021
Rick Perkins & GOAL
Awards Ceremony on
March 15 in the Toombs
Auditorium in Vidalia by
President Larry Calhoun.
The ceremony was also
livestreamed via Facebook
and may be viewed at face-
book.com/Southeastern-
TechnicalCollege.
The Rick Perkins
Award for Excellence in
Technical Instruction
honors technical educa
tion’s most outstanding
instructors. The award
is designed to recognize
and honor technical col
lege instructors who make
significant contributions
to technical education
through innovation and
leadership in their fields.
Instructors are nominated
for the Rick Perkins Award
by their peers.
STC’s other final
ists for the Rick Perkins
Award were Maxine Garn-
to, Nurse Aide Instructor,
and David Standard, Psy
chology Instructor.
GOAL, a statewide
program of the Techni
cal College System of
Georgia (TCSG), honors
excellence in academics
and leadership among the
state’s technical college
students. The purpose
of the GOAL program is
to spotlight outstanding
achievements by students
in Georgia's technical col
leges and to emphasize the
importance of technical
education in today’s global
workforce.
A screening commit
tee of college administra
tors reviewed each of the
instructors’ nominations
for GOAL and conducted
personal interviews with
the students. Four final
ists were chosen to give a
speech and interview with
a panel of local business
and industry leaders for a
winner to be chosen. That
panel considered the stu
dents’ qualities like aca
demic achievement, per
sonal character, leadership
abilities, and enthusiasm
for technical education.
The GOAL run
ners-up were Emily Ely,
Dental Hygiene student
from Emanuel County;
Kimbrell Higginbotham,
Dental Hygiene student
from Appling County;
and Paige Murphy, Asso
ciate of Science in Nurs
ing student from Toombs
County.
Local winners will
proceed to regional judg
ing in April, which will
include students and in
structors from the other
21 TCSG’s colleges. Nine
regional finalists, three fi
nalists from the three re
gions, will be announced
during state competition.
A panel of leaders from
the business, industry,
and government sectors
will conduct the inter
views. One instructor will
be named as the state
wide Rick Perkins win
ner, and one student will
be named as the statewide
GOAL winner.
The Rick Perkins
Award winner serves as
an ambassador for techni
cal education in Georgia.
The State GOAL
Winner, TCSG’s Student
of the Year, becomes the
student ambassador for
Georgia’s entire techni
cal college system and
receives a grand prize of
a brand new car provided
by Kia Motors Manufac
turing Georgia, a state
wide corporate sponsor
of Georgia’s GOAL pro
gram.
For more information
on STC, visit www.south-
easterntech.edu or call
(912) 538-3100 or (478)
289-2200.
Evans
continued from page 1A
ly balloting. Seven absentee
ballots were opened Tues
day night at the Toombs
County Board of Elections
Office in Lyons, and 176 cit
izens voted in person at the
polls on Election Day. There
were no provisional ballots
cast.
Toombs County Elec
tion Supervisor Carrie Al-
ligood certified the votes
Friday morning.
Evans is a 1991 graduate
of Vidalia High School and
1995 graduate of Georgia
College and State Univer
sity. After returning home
from college, she became
the owner of a local favorite,
Brown’s Jewelry. In 2003,
she began working for Dot
Foods as the HR Manager
and currently is working in
operations as Transporta
tion Manager.
She has served the
community on the follow
ing boards: United Way,
Toombs-Montgomery
Chamber of Commerce,
Downtown Vidalia Associa
tion, and Vidalia Conven
tion and Visitors Bureau.
She is a graduate of the
2000 Leadership Toombs-
Montgomery Class and a
graduate of the 2011 Lead
ership Georgia class. She
currently serves as the 2020-
2021 Chair of Leadership
Georgia.
She has been married
to her husband, Lee, for 21
years. They have two chil
dren, Rebecca (15) and
Chamlee (14), and are
members of Vidalia First
United Methodist Church.
Evans has said previ
ously of her purpose and
qualification for seeking the
Ward 2 post, “I truly love the
City of Vidalia.. .it is home
to me. I want to see Vidalia
continue to grow, thrive,
and succeed in every area of
community development.
We have wonderful leader
ship in our city, and I would
like to be a part of the solu
tion of keeping Vidalia mov
ing forward.”
Fatality
continued from page 1A
gers in the vehicle were
treated and released from
the Meadows Regional
Medical Center.
Vidalia High School is
sued this statement Sunday
afternoon:
“We are shocked and
heartbroken over the loss
of Wesley Simpson, one
of our freshman students,
who passed away last night
as a result of an automobile
accident. We ask that you
pray for Wesley’s family as
they walk through this very
difficult time. Please also be
in prayer for two other stu
dents who were involved in
this accident as well as our
VHS students and staff as
they deal with this tragedy.
We will have extra counsel
ors available for all students
and staff upon our return to
school on Monday.”
The Toombs County
School System also ex
pressed its sympathies in
a post on social media:
“Toombs County Schools
sends our sympathy and
prayers to the family and
friends of Wesley Simp
son as well as Vidalia High
School and the entire Vi
dalia city School System
during this difficult time.
We may be rivals on the
fields, but we are friends in
the community. Our hearts
hurt for VHS and for Wes
ley’s family and friends as
they deal with this tragic
loss.”
COVID-19 Update
Monday, March 22 W A
Number of Confirmed Cases/Hospitalizations/ Deaths
(Cumulative from March 2020)
Toombs County. 2845/168/93
Montgomery County. 706/40/19
Treutlen County. 622/51/20
Wheeler County. 452/35/21
Meadows Regional Medical Center COVID-19 Patient Census
Monday, March 22, COVID patients in-house :i
COVID admissions over the last seven days, 3-15-21 to 3-21-21): 1