At its annual meeting in Goldsboro, North Carolina, the NC Sweetpotato Commission elected a new slate of officers.
Each year the board of directors also selects a recipient of the NC Sweetpotato Commission Distinguished Service Award. This award is to be presented to an individual(s) who has rendered outstanding service to North Carolina's sweet potato industry. For his contribution to the industry, the Commission, and its growers, the 2025 Distinguished Service Award was presented to John Cooper, president of Connect C, LLC.
Cooper has more than 45 years of experience working as a corporate CEO and government agency administrator. He served in the administrations of three United States presidents. He served as state executive director of the North Carolina Farm Service Agency from 1981 to 1992, under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. In April 2001, Cooper was appointed by president George H.W. Bush to serve as the state director of USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) Rural Development for North Carolina.
While work for The North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission was "ad hoc" during the work on the 'cooperative issue', NCSC was Cooper's first-ever registered client as a lobbyist in 2010. Since then, he has worked tirelessly to see the commission succeed. Cooper was instrumental in securing a recurring international marketing allocation from the NC General Assembly, as well as the $5M G.A. grant to combat GRKN and, most recently, an additional recurring marketing allocation of $500k, annually.
John Cooper (pictured right).
At this same meeting, the commission elected a new slate of officers. Some have served on the board in past years, whereas others are new faces.
The 2025-2026 officer slate is as follows:
- Rob Hill, Tull Hill Farms, who served as the 2024 president, was re-elected to another term.
- Brent Leggett, Leggett Farming Partnership, a past president of the commission, was elected to the board of directors and elected to the seat of vice president.
- Thomas Joyner, Nash Produce was selected to serve another term as secretary/treasurer.
The remaining NCSC board of directors include:
- Richard Anderson, Anderson Farms
- Jose' Pepe Calderon, Barnes Farming/FarmPak
- Sarah Carraway, Lancaster Farms
- Rob Glover, Rob Glover Farms
- Kim LeQuire, Kornegay Family Farms & Produce
- Annette Starling, Millstream Farms
- Scott Sullivan, Sullivan Farms
- Micheal Wood, J. Roland Wood Farms
- Lyn Vick, Vick Family Farms.
"Recognizing 2024 was a rough growing season, the board is looking for a successful sweet year," said Michelle Grainger, executive director of the NCSC. "Looking ahead, the industry is optimistic that new relationships will help to push consumption, and position our state as a dependable and reliable source that is known for its product quality and consistency."
For more information:
CoCo Daughtry
NC Sweetpotato Commission
Tel: +1 (919) 894-1067 /
communications@ncsweetpotatoes.com
www.ncsweetpotatoes.com