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>> Narrator: Curly Cook has been described as a cowboy,
an educator, an innovator, a humanitarian,
an outstanding animal scientist.
Curly made his ranching debut in Georgia in 1959
and soon after, completed his Master's Degree in
Animal Nutrition at UGA and became an
Assistant County Agent.
>> Dr. Curly Cook: When you went to work for the
College of Agriculture at the University,
you had instant respect, you had instant credibility.
It was up to you to keep it there and take it higher.
Pretty much the agents and the producers assumed
if we hired them, if they were hired,
they were capable and had the qualities to do a good job.
>> Narrator: This began what would be a 31 year career to
the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences,
the state's beef cattle industry and
youth and adult education in Georgia.
>> Dr. Robert Stewart: Curly has a lot of worthy characteristics.
The two most notable, I'll narrow it down to is
positive attitude and persistence.
No matter what the situation, how bad it is,
Curly Cook is going to find the positive.
He's going to dwell on the positive and
that contagious, and that's good.
Persistence is just as important of a quality
because to Curly, no meant maybe and maybe meant yes.
>> Narrator: Curly was soon named Area Livestock Specialist,
and mentored many adults and 4-Hers who,
as a result of his influence,
are now avid supporters of UGA and the college.
Curly's hard work and abilities led to his promotion to
State Livestock Specialist and relocation to the Athens campus.
Most of his work focused on beef cattle; but he was a
versatile specialist and was also viewed as an expert on
sheep, swine and horses.
>> Dr. Cook: The College of Agriculture is just a
dynamic institution that makes a difference
in people’s lives.
It makes a difference in America.
Agriculture is responsible for feeding us, clothing us.
People don't understand the land grant system
and how much it does for us.
It's one of the things that's different about America
that's not there in other places.
>> Narrator: Under his leadership,
the Georgia Beef Cattle Improvement Association
grew to be one of the largest and
most effective in the nation.
He was also instrumental in the organization of the
National Beef Improvement Federation,
which has evolved to the
international beef records source of standards.
>> Dr. Cook: There’s a lot of people through the years
that influences your life.
I think Dr. Dan would have to be one of them,
my old Vo Ag teacher;
of course, Sandra was;
then county agents.
You can just name a lot of the people that were.
Producers, you can name the producers that were
a big influence because they were sharp.
Boy, you had to keep up with them.
>> Narrator: In 1981, Curly was promoted to
Head of the UGA Extension Animal Science Department.
>> Dr. Stewart: Curly has kind of a special ability
to identify with anyone and everyone
at the lowest levels, at the highest levels.
He comes across with that degree of sincerity
and he really cares not only about them but their families.
So you listen to what Curly says.
And if you listen, you can learn from him and
use a lot of his philosophy in your own programs.
>> Narrator: A shining star in Curly’s achievements includes
the Georgia Junior Livestock Program and
continued success can be attributed to his leadership.
His commitment to Georgia’s youth led Curly’s crowning achievement,
the Georgia National Fairground and the Agricenter.
>> Dr. Stewart: In the early years, everybody told
Curly that the concept of the Agricenter was too big,
too expensive, it just couldn’t be done.
But Curly’s persistent.
He followed through; he worked, he worked, he worked, it worked.
And what we have now is one of the showcase venues
in eastern America for the juniors in our state
as well as some of the national competitions
to be held here in Georgia, in Perry.
>> Narrator: In 1989, Curly was promoted as
Associate Director for the UGA Cooperative Extension Service
while also serving in several positions for the
Georgia County Agents Association
including Director, Vice President and President.
>> Dr. Curly Cook: Of course, you’ve always got the influence
your spouse had on you.
You’ve got to have support at home and kids too.
So that’s all part of it.
>> Narrator: Curly retired from UGA in 1992
but he hasn’t stopped working for Georgia agriculture.
Curly served as the 50th President of
the UGA CAES Alumni Association.
>> Dr. Cook: Working with the Ag Alumni group was really
another one of the highlights in my life because we really
got involved in reconnecting with a lot of people.
>> Narrator: Curly’s accomplishments have earned
him numerous awards including induction in to the
Alumni Hall of Fame at Panhandle State University,
and the Georgia Cattleman’s Hall of Fame.
He received the
Georgia Honorary Farmer’s Award,
the National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association’s Volunteer Service Award,
the Southern Ag Workers Award
and both the National and Pioneer Awards
for Beef Improvement Federation.
>> Dr. Cook: Being inducted into the Hall of Fame
is just wonderful; it’s a highlight.
I’m just awed by it because of the people
who have been in there before me.
That’s what so wonderful because, I guess, I’d be
pretty well at the bottom of that list
if you started ranking them.
But that’s alright.
It’s wonderful to me.
>> Narrator: The UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Alumni Association proudly inducts
Dr. Curly Cook into the
Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame.
(c)2013 University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Office of External Affairs