Farm-City banquet inducts new class
By Steve Herring
Published in News on November 21, 2017 5:50 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Mount Olive farmer Ronald Parks smiles as he is inducted into the Agricultural Hall of Fame Monday night during the Wayne County Farm-City Banquet at Lane Tree Golf Club.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Betsy Roberson hands the microphone back to Ann Turner after accepting the Outstanding Woman in Agriculture award Monday night at Lane Tree Golf Club during the Wayne County Farm-City Banquet.
Ronnie Parks of Mount Olive and the late Selby Beaman, who lived at Dudley, Monday night were inducted into the Wayne County Agricultural Hall of Fame in recognition of their outstanding contributions in the field of agriculture.
Betsy Roberson received the Outstanding Woman in Agriculture Award which is presented by the Wayne County Community and Extension Association.
The awards were presented during the annual Wayne County Farm-City Week Banquet held at Lane Tree Golf Club and attended by more than 250 people.
The Wayne County Agricultural Hall of Fame was founded in 1984 by the late Lloyd Massey as a means of honoring local residents who have made outstanding contributions to agriculture in Wayne County.
Since that time, 35 living and 34 deceased individuals have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, honoring them with a plaque and placing their photographs on the walls of the Wayne Center, said Jessica Strickland, Wayne County agriculture agent.
When the new Maxwell Regional Agricultural and Convention Center opens in March the photos will be mounted there, she said.
The selection criteria focus on outstanding contributions to agriculture in a managerial, leadership, and voluntary capacity, plus the impact in the community of the individual's efforts on agriculture, she said.
"For 2017, we had an impressive group of nominees," Strickland said. "An outside selection committee has reviewed the nominees."
Beaman, who was posthumously inducted, grew up in Greene County and served with the U.S. Marines in Korea.
The Beaman farm was in the Dudley community where his family operated a 365-acre farm that included field crops, pasture, hogs and cattle.
He was a tobacco auctioneer for both burly and flue-cured tobacco. He did auctioneering work in North Carolina and Kentucky and even used those skills to volunteer at churches and other organizations around the county, Strickland said.
Beaman was a lifelong member of the Brogden Grange and served as master of the State and National Granges. He established the Grange building at Waynesborough Park.
He received the National Grange's Community Service Award.
"He served on the Wayne County FSA advisory board along with several leadership role in Extension programs," Strickland said. "Selby shared his love of agriculture by giving talks on agriculture at the Wayne County Public Library."
At one time, he hosted a family from Honduras and Costa Rica to share his knowledge of agriculture, she said.
Beaman was well known for his love of antique tractors and farm toys, she said.
He was a founder and president of the East Carolina Vintage Farm Equipment Club and B&B Country Crankup, displaying several of his antique tractors at the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair.
"He was very proud of his collection of antique cars and his collection of toy farm equipment, which amazed everyone that had the privilege to see it," she said.
Beaman was actively involved in his community including Dudley Christian Church where he was Sunday school superintendent and on the board of trustees.
He was one of the founders of the Dudley Fire Department and was a member of more than 50 years with the Mount Olive Masonic Lodge.
"Selby was a simple man known for his generosity to his community and county and his love of agriculture," Strickland said. "He loved his family more than anything and was proud to leave a legacy that his grandchildren will continue to carry."
Beaman's son-in-law Craig West accepted the award on behalf of the family.
"First of all, on behalf of Mr. Selby's family I want to thank you all for this wonderful honor," West said. "Any of you who knew Mr. Selby knew that he was a unique man. He had to be one of the finest men that I have ever had the privilege of knowing."
While Beaman had many accomplishments, he would be quick to tell people what he was most proud of was his family, West said.
He and his wife, Ann, were married for 56 years and had four children.
"He loved his old tractors. He loved his antiques," West said. "Some might sort of think that he lived in the past. That is not really true. He was very much in tune with the present. He loved new things. He loved technology.
"But it is was very important to preserve pieces of the past -- not only for his grandchildren, but for everybody, for all future generations. It was important for us not to forget where we came from."
Extension agent Stefani Sykes presented the living recipient award to Parks.
A 1968 graduate of Southern Wayne High School at Dudley, Parks has been involved with agriculture all of his life, she said. He also has a degree agriculture from Wayne Community College.
He and his wife, Peggy, have been married for 41 years and have three children and three grandchildren.
In addition to a 200-head beef cattle operation for which he grows his own hay, Parks and his brother, Nelson, grow 300 hogs as independent producers -- one of the few left in the state, she said.
The Parks brothers manage a diversified farming operation including tobacco, cotton, corn, wheat, soybeans and timbers.
Ronnie Parks is a past president of the Wayne County Farm Bureau, served on the Energy and Transportation Advisory Committee for the N.C. Farm Bureau, was an officer in the Wayne County Livestock Development Association, serves on the Wayne County agriculture advisory board and is the current district supervisor for Wayne Soil and Water Conservation.
He has received the N.C. Soil and Water Conservation Distinguished Service Award and was honored as the Outstanding Young Farmer in 1988 by the Mount Olive Jaycees and Kiwanis Club.
Parks is committed to Thunder Swamp Pentecostal Holiness Church in Mount Olive where he is a Sunday school teacher, usher and deacon, Sykes said.
"Mr. Ronald Parks has been a leader and advocate for the agricultural industry in Wayne County and the state for many years," she said. "Ronald's faith in God, hard work and diligence are shown every day through his actions.
"He is a wonderful friend, neighbors and leader in the county."
Parks said he was "truly surprised" by the honor.
"It is a great honor for me to receive this as a lot of people I have known are on the wall at the Wayne Center today that I have known over the years and who have contributed greatly to the industry of agriculture here in Wayne County," he said.
Parks said that listening to Sykes' account of his accomplishments, he wondered if he measured up to them.
Anne Turner, chairman of the Outstanding Woman in Agriculture Committee, presented the award to Roberson.
Roberson learned from an early age the responsibilities and hard work farming requires, Turner said. She worked in tobacco, took care of hogs and drove the combine during the summer harvest season, she said.
She received a degree in elementary education from Elon College and taught school in Blacksburg, Virginia, while her husband, Ryan, was a student at Virginia Tech.
After he graduated they returned to the Grantham community so they could work on the farm with her father.
Roberson serves on the Wayne County Farm Bureau Women's Committee as well as the Young Farmer and Rancher Board.
The family is active in Stoney Creek Church.
They have two children, Wade, 3, and Logan, 1. Their third baby is due in March.
Roberson said she was a "little intimidated" to stand in front of the crowd because "a lot of you helped raise me."
"I owe a lot to you because a lot of you helped instill in me a deep love of agriculture," she said. "I really don't deserve this. I have a 3-year-old little boy, and he loves to tell everybody that daddy and granddaddy go to work and they work really hard.
"Mommy stays home and plays."
Roberson said she guessed she needed to brush up on her combine-driving skills and show her son that.