RAINES NAMED PRESIDENT OF PENDLETON FARMERS SOCIETY
PENDLETON, SC…Fred Raines, Agricultural Education instructor at Abbeville High School, was recently named president of the prestigious and historic Pendleton Farmers Society headquartered in Pendleton, SC, according to spokesperson John W. Parris, state director of public affairs for agricultural education in South Carolina.
Organized in 1815, the Society meets at the Farmers Hall constructed in 1828 on the square in downtown Pendleton. It is the oldest farmers hall in continuous use in the nation.
It was in this hall that Thomas Green Clemson, the son-in-law of John C. Calhoun, first mentioned plans for establishing a land grant institution which later became a reality and today is Clemson University.
Mr. Raines joins a distinguished list of signaled agriculturalists who have served as president of the Society including Thomas Pinckney, Jr., John C. Calhoun and Thomas G. Clemson.
A graduate of Abbeville High School, Mr. Raines received a BS Degree in Animal Science from Morehead State University. He has since earned a MS Degree in Agricultural Education at Clemson University and completed 30 hours of additional graduate credit hours above the requirements for the MS Degree. He was one of the first Agricultural Education instructors in South Carolina to become National Board Certified.
“Mr. Raines is extremely qualified to lead the 194 year-old society,” Parris said. “His superb knowledge of agriculture and proven success as an agricultural educator will be a tremendous asset to the organization,” he added.