ACSA Cotton Institute Graduates Future Cotton Leaders

By Jim.Robinson|July 21, 2011

A total of 39 delegates from 16 countries celebrated their graduation from the American Cotton Shippers Association International Cotton Institute on July 19 at the University of Memphis. The course began on June 1 and a basic education in all aspects of the cotton industry and the international business environment for men and women worldwide. From field to fabric, to manual classing and the use of HVI data, through risk management and the basics of price protection – the program offers an in-depth look at cotton from virtually every perspective.

“While I don’t rate each class, this year’s group was very proactive for a couple of reasons,” William Griffin, Institute director, tells Cotton International. “First was the volatile cotton futures market, plus we had a fairly mature group this year with a lot of knowledge and experience. Also, everyone now has a handheld device, which makes it easier to stay plugged into global events, so they were well informed.”

Speakers at the graduation included Griffin, William May, ACSA president; Allenberg Cotton Co.’s Jeff Johnson, mentor director; Sukhpreet Dhaliwal, a student chosen to speak on behalf of the class; Bob Carmichael, Classing Room director, and Mike McCue, editor of Cotton International.

“We were extremely pleased with the 16 different countries represented and cultural diversity of the attendees in this year’s session, which truly makes this an international program like no other in our industry,” May said.

Countries represented by the 39 delegates: