ATHENS, Ga. — College of Georgia Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences college students hailing from Corridor County, Ga., will quickly be eligible for scholarship assist due to the generosity of Gainesville, Ga., natives Doug and Kay Ivester.

A $200,000 endowment to fund the newly established Abit Massey/Ivester Basis Scholarship Fund will assist CAES college students who both graduated from a highschool situated in Gainesville, Ga., or Corridor County, Ga., or who’re Corridor County residents.

The Ivesters, by the Melvin Douglas and Victoria Kay Ivester Basis, assist comparable scholarships on the UGA Terry Faculty of Enterprise and thru instructional efforts in Corridor County. Recipients of the Abit Massey/Ivester Basis Scholarship Fund will probably be chosen by a committee appointed by CAES Dean and Director Nick Place.

“CAES is glad for the chance to additional pupil success by this scholarship. Abit Massey has been a robust supporter of agriculture right here in Georgia, and this scholarship is additional testomony to his perception in the way forward for agriculture, the significance of training and the potential that lives within the college students of Corridor County,” Place mentioned. “We’re proud to companion with Doug and Kay Ivester and are excited to see how these funds change the lives of CAES college students within the coming years.”

Each undergraduate and graduate college students will probably be eligible for the annual scholarship award, which may be divided if a couple of pupil is chosen. The primary scholarship will probably be awarded in 2024, due to an extra $8,000 in immediate-use funding donated by the Ivester Basis.

A longstanding powerhouse within the poultry business who has been influential to numerous college students and business professionals throughout the state, Massey relocated to Corridor County within the Sixties to take the function of govt director on the Georgia Poultry Federation.

“The Ivester Basis is happy to ascertain The Abit Massey Scholarship to acknowledge and honor Mr. Abit Massey’s a few years of service to the poultry business,” mentioned Lynn Darby, director of the Ivester Basis. Along with offering scholarship assist for college students in CAES who’re Corridor County residents the Ivesters’ assist was acknowledged as a part of the naming of the Abit Massey Classroom in UGA’s new Poultry Science Constructing. “It’s our honor to acknowledge Mr. Abit Massey.”

Massey was shocked with the announcement of the Abit Massey Classroom in the course of the Oct. 6 Poultry Science Constructing ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“The Poultry Science Constructing will assist Georgia maintain and enhance its place because the poultry capital of the world and because the main phase of agriculture and agribusiness in Georgia,” Massey mentioned. “A private spotlight of the dedication was studying of the Abit Massey/Ivester Basis Scholarship. I used to be and am honored.”

The 70,000-plus sq. foot state-of-the-art constructing will maintain its first courses in spring time period 2024, offering the subsequent era of poultry science leaders with trendy labs, collaborative assembly areas and the newest know-how.

“This (constructing) will present pupil alternatives and wanted staff for our gigantic and ever-expanding business. One phrase describes a UGA poultry graduate: employed,” Massey mentioned. “Doug and Kay Ivester are nice credit to Corridor County and the state of Georgia, with wonderful affect, and I’m grateful for his or her friendship and this surprising contribution.”

To be taught extra concerning the Poultry Science Constructing challenge, go to poultrybuilding.caes.uga.edu.

Jordan Powers is a public relations coordinator and author for UGA’s Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.