National FFA President Levy Randolph congratulates Senator Daniel B. Verdin III.
SENATOR VERDIN AWARDED HONORARY AMERICAN FFA DEGREE
COLUMBIA, SC…Senator Daniel B. Verdin III of Laurens, SC, was awarded the Honorary American FFA Degree at the recent National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, reports John W. Parris, state director of public affairs with the SC FFA Association.
“The Honorary American FFA Degree is the highest and most prestigious award presented to a select number of friends and supporters by the 523,000-member National FFA Organization,” Mr. Parris said. “The awards ceremony was televised live by the National RFD-TV Satellite Network which reaches more than 40 million homes in the United States,” he added.
Senator Verdin and his wife, Kimberlee, were joined at the National Convention by a delegation of 400 FFA members, Agricultural Education instructors and other guests from South Carolina. The convention attendance, highlighted by a sea of traditional blue and gold jackets, set an all-time record of 54,942 representing all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
The owner of a family operated Farm and Garden Center in Laurens, Senator Verdin serves as chairman of the Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee of the South Carolina State Senate. A great friend of the FFA and Agricultural Education, he also serves as an active member of the American Legislative Exchange Council and participates in a number of regional, national and international conferences on environmental management, energy, climate and other agricultural-related subjects.
An accomplished agriculturalist and distinguished governmental leader, Senator Verdin is the recipient of the SC Agricultural Educators Distinguished Service Award and recognized as the Outstanding State Legislator by the SC Veterinarians Association, the SC Farm Bureau, the Advocates for Agriculture, the SC Poultry Federation, the SC Chamber of Commerce, the SC Realtors Association and others.
Senator Verdin said he was “honored and humbled” by the recognition. “FFA represents the future of agriculture. Not only do we have to find more efficient ways to feed more people, we must be at the forefront of the science required to make lives better against the backdrop of the cultural and technological changes that have occurred and will occur. The farmer and other agriculturalists must make that call….and that makes the mission of the FFA timeless and indispensable.”