The National Cotton Ginners Association has honored Lee Todd with its Distinguished Service Award for 2002.

Todd, who is executive vice president of the Southern Cotton Ginners Association at Memphis and manager of the upcoming Mid-South Farm & Gin Show, was cited for his “career of distinguished service to our industry.”

The presentation was made at the NCGA annual meeting, held in conjunction with the National Cotton Council's 63rd annual meeting at Dallas.

“Lee has not only worked tirelessly on behalf of the Southern Cotton Ginners Association, but also on issues of national importance,” said Dr. Bill Norman, NCGA executive vice president, in presenting the award.

“During his tenure of SCGA leadership, the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show has more than doubled in size and more than 95 percent of the gins in the Mid-South are now members of the association.”

Additionally, Norman noted, Todd “is a valued advisor on key issues that affect our industry — just one example is his recent trip to Washington to meet with FDA officials about approving ammoniation of cottonseed to reduce aflatoxin in cottonseed fed to dairy cattle.

“While this is primarily a western states problem (aflatoxin is rarely a problem in Mid-South cottonseed), Lee felt it an issue of such importance that it warranted a united industry presence at the Washington meeting.

“His involvement in many agriculture-related activities and issues make him a deserving recipient of the award for distinguished service.”

Todd, a native of Bells, Tenn., has been involved in agriculture his entire life, Norman noted, going back to his Future Farmers of America days, when he served as the organization's national vice president and was a second-place winner of the national public speaking contest.

A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin, he worked in sales for Progressive Farmer, Delta Farm Press, and Cotton Farming publications before joining SCGA in a sales position in 1983. He assumed his present position in 1986.

Todd is married to the former Merle Rompel of New Braunfels, Texas, and they have three children, David, Robert, and Janet, and two granddaughters.