Andrew G. Jordan, director of Technical Services for the NCC and executive director of The Cotton Foundation, received the 2000 Distinguished Service Award. The awards were presented at the recent NCGA annual meeting, held in conjunction with the National Cotton Council's 62nd anniversary meeting in San Diego.
The Horace Hayden award is presented to the ginner providing outstanding leadership to the U.S. cotton industry, superior customer service and civic contributions. The Distinguished Service Award is given on behalf of the U.S. cotton ginning industry to the individual making outstanding contributions to the industry and to NCGA.
A graduate of the University of Arkansas, Mann is a third-generation ginner and farmer who has been involved in the ginning business his entire adult life. He was a leader in the revitalization of the NCGA and served as its president. He served as president of the Mid-South Ginners Council, the forerunner of the Southern Ginners Association, among numerous ginning association activities.
He is past president of the Agricultural Council of Arkansas, has been inducted into the Arkansas Agricultural Hall of Fame, is a recipient of the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service's Cotton Achievement award and the Harry Baker Award from the NCC.
In accepting the award, Mann gave credit to his partner, Larry McClendon of Marianna, Ark., for helping revitalize the McClendon Mann & Felton Gin Co., and thus to help revitalize cotton production in Lee County, Ark.
"In 1991, I was experiencing health problems, and my attorney advised me it was not a good idea to leave a cotton gin to my wife," he said. "I asked Larry McClendon to join me as a partner, and he is the one who is responsible for the success of our new venture. I have really been impressed with what he has been able to do with our gin."
Mann also served as chairman of the board of Methodist Hospital and Health Systems in Memphis, Tenn.; trustee of the NCC's Cotton Foundation and president of his local school district.
In presenting the award, outgoing NCGA President Myrl Mitchell said Mann "strives to provide outstanding service to his customers, and through the years he has provided the best and latest in modern ginning technology. He has instigated educational programs for farmers to encourage them to produce more cotton because of its economic advantage relative to other crops. He has served this industry and his community tirelessly and unselfishly."
Jordan, who graduated from the University of Georgia, joined the NCC in 1976. He has served in numerous advisory roles throughout the agricultural community, including more than 40 program reviews of state and federal agricultural research units, secretary of the U.S.-Mexico Winter Nursery for cotton germplasm research, technical advisor to the International Cotton Advisory Committee and president of the Agricultural Research Institute. In 1995, he was awarded the Mayfield Cotton Engineering Award.
