Cherokee County Farm Bureau (CCFB) received several awards for outstanding member programs during the recent Georgia Farm Bureau 1st District Annual Meeting. The GFB 1st District includes 15 county Farm Bureaus in Northwest Georgia. William Grizzle is the CCFB president.

The CCFB Young Farmer Committee, chaired by Molly Childs, received the 2014 GFB 1st District Outstanding Young Farmer Committee Award. The committee's activities included a Farm Safety Camp for children at Lazy D Farm this past June. The camp featured safety classes for children ages 8-12; 69 children attended and learned about safe practices involving animals, tractors, ATVs, water, guns, electricity, weather and the Internet.

The CCFB Legislative Committee, chaired by Len Cagle, received the GFB 1st District Outstanding Legislative Program Award. The committee sponsored a political forum this past April for CCFB members and the general public. The event was attended by 35 candidates for various government offices and more than 400 people.

CCFB members Ben and Vicki Cagle received the 1st District Young Farmer Achievement Award. Ben and Vicki raise beef cattle, operate a you-pick garden and host educational farm tours. Their agri-tourism activities include a corn maze and hay rides in the fall, which have attracted more than 65,000 visitors.

CCFB Office Manager Shirley Pahl received the 1st District Outstanding Office Manager Award. Pahl has worked with CCFB since 1992. She coordinates all of the organization's agriculture advocacy activities in the county while serving as the CCFB point of contact for the general public.

GFB and CCFB also are accepting applications for college scholarships. The GFB scholarships will be awarded to the top 10 students who confirm they are majoring in agriculture or an agriculture related field. The top three students will receive a scholarship of $3,000 each, with the remaining seven students each receiving a $750 scholarship. In addition, CCFB will award a $50 scholarship to an individual winner at each local high school, along with a $1,000 scholarship to two county winners.

The winners will be announced in May 2015. Contact the CCFB for an application: 770-479-1481, ext. 0.