Leadership Chattooga is a program that provides emerging community leaders with a greater awareness of community issues, needs, services and resources.  The final outing for Leadership Chattooga 2022 was held recently.  The group visited a local meat processor as well as agricultural producers in Chattooga County.  They wrapped up the day with a visit to Paradise Garden.  You can read more about their visits below.  Leadership Chattooga is currently recruiting for the Class of 2023.  Classes meet monthly on Thursdays beginning in January. Contact Cindy McGraw at 706.857.4033 or email her at execdirector@chattoogachamber.org for more information.

What a fun day we had visiting farms and tourist attractions around the county. You really need more than a weekend to see it all.

What’s for dinner? Or should I say breakfast. We started the day off at Wright’s Processing on Gore-Subligna Road. Richard Wright took us on a tour and explained their processing set up. They use a humane treatment of livestock developed by scientist Temple Grandin. For your beef and pork processing needs, Richard is the right guy. For your fridge and your grill, check out their market at the front of their facility!

Our next stop was the Eager’s “Lay or Bust” Farm in Subligna. Sarah Eager (left) explained the process of producing fertilized eggs for chicken production. We also caught a peek of the laying house. It was very interesting to learn about the different eggs and to see their production line which is automated and very precise. Yet, it comes down to people selecting the best eggs!

We left the chicken farm eager for our next adventure. Going a “fur piece” down the road, we pulled in to Bill Bryan’s cattle ranch. He and his daughter, Christy, talked to us in their innovative barn with a ceiling so high that even on the hottest summer days, the cows can be comfortable, and so can we. You can tell passion for these animals and what they provide runs deep in the Bryan family just by listening to their stories and the expressions on their faces.

Our farm and ag business tour ended with a delicious home grown, homemade meal provided by members of the Georgia Farm Bureau of Chattooga County. A huge thank you goes to Lauren Jarrett who coordinated our tour and rustled up lunch for us at what I’ve been told was the Cowboy Church.

Cool stuff!!

Our afternoon was delightful as well. We trekked across the ridge and landed in Pennville at Howard Finster’s Paradise Garden. Executive Director Tina Cox, who had toured us through the folk art collection featuring Howard at the High Museum back in February, was at the Garden to greet us. We got a sneak peek at the preparations Garden staff, which includes one of our classmates, Olivia Knauss, have been making for the upcoming Finster Fest.