Recipients of the 2020 Scholarship Program

Rhiannon Belcher, Lee County High School; Spence Butler, Grace Christian Academy; James Winston Cornish, Thomasville High School, Scholars Academy; Bradley Cohen, Brookwood School

Southwest Georgia Farm Credit announces scholarship winners

Southwest Georgia Farm Credit is proud to announce the recipients of its 2020 Scholarship Program. The program is designed to help students in rural communities with the costs associated with attending college. The hope is that these students remember their rural roots after receiving their degree, and help guide the future of our small towns and farming communities throughout southwest Georgia.

“There’s no doubt that so many of our local students excel in academics, extracurricular activities, and community service,” said Paxton Poitevint, CEO, Southwest Georgia Farm Credit. “That so many of our applicants came so highly recommended, speaks to the success of our local schools, their mentors, and their families.”

Recipients of the 2020 Southwest Georgia Farm Credit scholarships include James Winston Cornish, Thomasville High School, Scholars Academy; Spence Butler, Grace Christian Academy; Rhiannon Belcher, Lee County High School.

Cohen awarded Southwest Georgia Farm Credit’s inaugural Duane Watson Scholarship for Exceptional Character in Agriculture

In its inaugural year, Southwest Georgia Farm Credit is honored to award the Duane Watson Scholarship for Exceptional Character in Agriculture to Brookwood School’s Bradley Cohen. Cohen, who grew up in a farm family, exemplifies the characteristics of the Association’s late Relationship Manager, Mr. Duane Watson, who so many remember as a hard-working, kind and generous man, who put faith, family, and farming, foremost in his life.

“We are so grateful for the opportunity to celebrate Duane’s memory with this scholarship,” said Southwest Georgia Farm Credit’s CEO, Paxton Poitevint. “Duane was a friend, a colleague, and an advocate for agriculture. We miss his presence and his guidance, and hope that this scholarship furthers the qualities in others that we so respected in him.”

Cohen, the son of Molly and Eric Cohen of Whigham, will pursue a degree in biological sciences.

“Knowing that Bradley has grown up and worked on a family farm, and values a strong work ethic and understanding of the importance of agriculture in our area, furthered our decision,” Poitevint said. “But foremost, Bradley exemplifies the kind of character Duane displayed every day—respect, honesty and integrity.”