Auburn

Tuesday night I met with the Clay County Poultry and Egg Association.  They had a special speaker and sponsor for the meal.  I was there to talk to the speaker representing a company that I hope might locate in Clay County and provide some jobs for the local people and a place to sell some wood! How this will go I don't know but I do know if we do nothing, nothing will happen.

Yesterday, I had a meeting at the School of Forestry and Wildlife Science Building at Auburn University.  The meeting was for the the Forestry, Wildlife & Natural Resources Extension Advisory Council.  We listen to the strategic plans for the School of Forestry and The Forestry, Wildlife & Natural Resources part of Extension.  I had lunch with Dr. James Shepard, Dean of the School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences and the new Director of the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, Dr, Gary Lemme.  Dr. Lemme is from South Dakota and it was hilarious hearing him tell about his dogs after he moved to Auburn.  He said there were two trees on their property in South Dakota that his dogs used and when he turned them out at their new home in Alabama they ran into the woods then turned around and came back to him.  They didn't know what to do with so many trees.

When Dr. Lemme spoke he said something about extension I had never thought of.  He made the comment that money comes in for education(the university, research & extension) and education(extension) goes out to help the economy of our state.

After lunch we met in three small groups and then came back together to make a report and recommendations for the group.

I was the only landowner in the group that was not attached to the extension service, education or another group such as Alabama Wildlife Federation, Alabama Landowners Association, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources or Alabama Forestry Commission.  It was a privileged for me to serve in such a capacity.

After the meeting I walked around waiting on Lisa to come back from shopping.  I thought about how that part of campus had changed since I was there.  Across the street was the old crop rotation plot that started in 1896, and next to it was the spot where we grew crops in Vegetable Crops Class, for the most part it looked the same.  I thought, while reminiscing about when I was a student at Auburn....."I am not a part of Auburn but Auburn is a part of me."  I thank GOD for that part of my journey through life.  

As the sun went down over Auburn last night!  WAR EAGLE!!!