Recognizing people and organizations is why the Farm City Awards Banquet was created. Having celebrated 59 years of Farm City week, the Franklin County Farm City Committee received the Division II Best Farm City Dinner Award at the Alabama Farm City Awards Luncheon on April 2 at the Winfrey Hotel in Birmingham.
“It is an honor to have received this award,” said Katernia Cole, who is the Franklin County Extension coordinator and serves as chair of the Farm City Committee. “It is done on behalf of our local farmers. Not only do we eat the food they grow, but we also use products made by farmers every day.”
The Farm City Committee is a partnership comprised by several entities: Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation, Franklin County Extension Office, ALFA Farmers Federation Women’s Committee, Lions Club, NRCS, Civitan Club, Community Education, City of Russellville, Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, retired business owners and volunteers.
“It takes a lot of people to do this,” said Cole.
These entities sponsor local awards given to citizens who have worked hard to serve the community. Awards include Cooperator of the Year, Educator of the Year, Cattleman of the Year, Farmer and Farm Family of the Year, Organization of the Year, Hall of Fame Award, Agricultural Lifetime Achievement Award and Citizen of the Year.
Also, students in Franklin County are able to participate in Farm City week by creating a poster, essay or multimedia project that explained the theme for the year. First-place winners were able to attend the luncheon and compete in state level competition.
The theme for 2014 was “365 sunrises and 7 billion mouths to feed,” meaning that farmers have to wake up every day to attend to their crops and livestock to provide enough food for everyone in the world to eat.
Farm City Week began in 1955 nationally. The Farm City Awards Banquet began in the 1990s in Franklin County and has continued to grow. The Franklin County Farm City Committee has received numerous awards both on the state and national level for their work in the community.
