Georgia Governor Nathan Deal named J. Drew Echols of Alto to the state’s Soil and Water Conservation Commission (SWCC) on Wednesday.
Echols is a managing partner who oversees production and agritourism at Jaemor Farms. He and his wife Shelley have two children.
The SWCC drafts the state’s manual on how best to control erosion and prevent runoff from seeping into Georgia’s waterways.
The recently passed HB 397 gives oversight of the agency to the state’s Department of Agriculture and gave Governor Deal the power to appoint anyone to the board. Before the change commissioners were chosen from elected supervisors from the state’s 40 soil and water districts.
This year has been a tumultuous time for the little-known agency. The SWCC fired its Executive Director on March 25. The next day the Senate gave final approval to HB 397.
The Governor pushed for the move in hopes that a new board and more oversight from the state will be better for development in the state and will help straighten out what he calls “contradictory” environmental guidelines.
New Members of the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission
Jason Winters
Winters serves as the sole commissioner of Chattooga County. He recently served two years as vice chairman of the Georgia Rural Development Council. He is a past president of the Summerville-Trion Rotary Club and past chairman of the Chattooga County Chamber of Commerce. Winters serves on the board of directors of the Boys and Girls Club of Chattooga County and is a member of the Summerville Trion Optimist Club. Winters earned a bachelor’s degree from Berry College. He resides in Lyerly.
Drew Echols
Echols is a managing partner who oversees production and agritourism at Jaemor Farms in Alto. He currently serves on the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Board and the University of Georgia College Agricultural Advisory Council. He and his wife, Shelly, have two children. They reside in Alto.
Garland Thompson
Thompson retired as senior vice president for the SunTrust Bank of Coffee County and presently serves as chairman of the board. He has served on the Georgia Agribusiness Council, the University of Georgia Agriculture Alumni Board, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, the Sunbelt Exposition Board and the Douglas-Coffee County Industrial Authority. He earned an associate’s degree from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from the University of Georgia and attended banking school at Louisiana State University. He has four children and five grandchildren. Thompson resides in Douglas.
Harold D. Fallin
Fallin is the owner and operator of Hickory Hill Farm and is president of Georgia Farm Products Sales Corp. He currently serves on the Two Rivers Resource Conservation and Development Board, Towaliga Soil & Water Conservation District, Upper Flint Regional Water Planning Council, Upson County Farm Bureau Board and the Georgia Farm Bureau Aquaculture Committee. Fallin is a former branch executive with Farm Credit. He graduated from R.E. Lee Institute and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. He has two children and resides in Thomaston.
Bob Martin
Martin is an agribusinessman and self-employed farmer in Irwin County. He serves on the Local Farm Service Agency Committee for the Ben Hill-Irwin office and is a district supervisor for the Middle South Georgia Soil and Water Conservation District. Martin is also a shareholder of Dixie Peanut Co. and Osceola Cotton Co., both in Ocilla. Martin and his wife, Peggy, have two children and two grandchildren. They reside in Ocilla.
