UGA’s Warnell School to honor distinguished alumni at Homecoming festivities

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The University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources will honor two alumni over Homecoming weekend.

Joe Hamilton has been named the 2015 Distinguished Alumnus, and Sharon Holbrooks will be recognized as the 2015 Distinguished Young Alumnus. These awards are given annually to alumni who have made outstanding contributions to the natural resources fields and have remained strong supporters of the Warnell School. Award winners are nominated by colleagues and other alumni.

“The Warnell School is truly blessed with many outstanding alumni who are loyal supporters of our program,” said Dale Greene, dean of the Warnell School. “Joe Hamilton and Sharon Holbrooks have led by example since they were students in our programs.”


Joe Hamilton

Hamilton, who received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 1971 and 1978, respectively, has been a pioneer in the management and conservation of wildlife. He is best known as founder of the Quality Deer Management Association, a nonprofit organization with a mission to ensure the future of white-tailed deer, wildlife habitat and hunting heritage. The QDMA currently has nearly 60,000 members across the U.S. and Canada and in six additional countries.

Hamilton has served as the director of education and outreach for its Southern region, director of development and now serves in the role of QDMA founder and senior adviser.

“My academic training at Warnell provided an awareness, understanding and appreciation of our natural resources,” he said. “As a result, I am a devout steward of the proper protection and management of those treasures from the wild.”


Sharon Holbrooks

Holbrooks, who received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 2004 and 2007, respectively, is a conservation easement specialist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service, where she helps lead and manage easement acquisition. She is also an expert in wetland and wildlife habitat management and was recently named one of UGA’s 40 Under 40, which recognizes exceptional young alumni who are achieving great success in their professional and personal endeavors.

Holbrooks has been an active alumna since graduating, serving on the Warnell School’s External Advisory Board, Young Alumni Committee, Instruction and Outreach Committee and Alumni Steering Committee. Her honor—the 2015 Distinguished Young Alumnus Award—is given annually to graduates who are active supporters of the Warnell School, are 40 years or younger and have graduated within the last 10 years.

“All of my successes thus far, I owe to my Warnell family,” she said. “The professors, students, staff—they all mean so much to me. I strive every day to be the person that deserves the title ‘Warnell graduate’ and represent the Warnell School the way it deserves.

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Adeline Kenerly ’16 Named New Miss Georgia 2015

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Adeline Kenerly ’16, a UGA digital and broadcast journalism major, was recently named the 2015 Miss Georgia after Betty Cantrell, the former 2015 Miss Georgia, was named Miss America on September 13.

In addition to being a member of the UGA Majorettes, Adeline was crowned Miss University of Georgia in 2014. She is involved with Zeta Tau Alpha sorority and has held leadership roles with both UGA Relay for Life and HEROs at UGA, a student organization that raises funds for pediatric HIV/AIDS. The Jesup native also served as a member of the Student Government Association’s Freshman Forum.

Adeline is continuing a long Bulldog tradition in her family. Her father, Dr. J. Lex Kenerly III met his wife, Joy Bland Kenerly, when they were UGA students in the early 1980s. Her father was a walk-on member of the football team and her mother was a UGA Majorette who twirled during three Sugar Bowls and the 1980 National Championship. Today, Lex is a member of the UGA Alumni Association Board of Directors and his company, Bone and Joint Institute of South Georgia, was on last year’s Bulldog 100 list of fastest-growing businesses owned or operated by UGA alumni. The couple has raised a family of passionate and involved Bulldogs. They attend each home football game to not only cheer for the Bulldogs, but also their daughters, Adeline and Jameson. Jameson is a third-year Feature Twirler and in the Honors Program.

Adeline will be crowned Miss Georgia on Saturday, October 3 during halftime of the Georgia vs. Alabama football game.

The Miss America Organization, at the local, state, and national levels, is the largest private scholarship foundation for women in the United States. This year, scholarship assistance totaling more than $45 million was available to contestant’s at all three levels. The organiztaion was established in 1921 and is a nonprofit civic corporation. The Miss UGA Scholarship Pageant is a program within UGA’s Division of Student Affairs.

2015 UGA Farm Tour in Northeast Georgia

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“Candidly, there’s nothing more important to the University of Georgia than its linkage with the agricultural industry. This tour gives the university a chance to showcase what the university does for the agricultural industry and how important that industry is, not only to the state today but to the future of the state.” – UGA President Jere W. Morehead (JD ’80)

Agriculture has a more than $72 billion impact on Georgia’s economy. From the assistance offered through UGA Cooperative Extension to research advances, farmers and food industry leaders rely on UGA’s expertise.

Last week, UGA President Jere W. Morehead saw the close partnership between the agriculture industry and the university as he toured several north Georgia farms, and food processing and biosecurity facilities with Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black, Sen. John Wilkinson, chairman of Georgia state Senate’s Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee; Rep. Terry England, chairman of Georgia state House’s Appropriations Committee; and J. Scott Angle, dean and director of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

With agritourism, poultry and food manufacturing playing key roles in northeast Georgia’s agricultural economy, the tour covered six points of interest. At each stop, farm and plant managers shared ways in which UGA has contributed to their success and ways the university can help in the future.

This year’s tour included visits to:

Continue reading to learn more about the UGA Farm Tour.

Thank you to the 2015 40 Under 40 Sponsors

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The UGA Alumni Association would like to thank the many generous businesses and individuals that are sponsoring the 2015 40 Under 40 program.

In 2011, the UGA Alumni Association launched the 40 Under 40 program to recognize exceptional young alumni who are achieving great success in their professional and personal endeavors. This campus-wide collaboration is supported by the Division of Development and Alumni Relations, Division of Student Affairs and all academic departments. In a few days, the campus community will gather for the 2015 40 Under 40 Awards Luncheon to celebrate these individuals’ leadership in business, research, the arts, philanthropy and education.

Thanks to these sponsors, UGA is able to showcase its great young alumni year after year. Partnerships with sponsors are vital to the success of this program and without their generous help, the program would not be possible.

Platinum Level

Institute for Leadership Advancement, Terry College of Business 
UGA Honors Program
UGA Student Affairs
Two Maids and A Mop
Frazier & Deeter, LLC
UGA College of Education
The Mabra Firm

Silver Level

Porter Keadle Moore
The Georgia Bulldog Club
UGA Gwinnett Campus

Red Level

AGL Resources
Riverbend Environmental
John Wadsworth (BBA ’03) of Strawn and Company
The Zeist Foundation
Georgia EMC
UGA School of Law
Yvette Daniels (AB ’86, JD ’89)
Zeta Psi Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Your Pie
Corptek IT Solutions

Black Level

Margaret (BSHE ’81, MED ’83) and Terry Mathews (AB ’82)
Textron, Inc.