NCGA Elects 2020 Officers, Honors Craft and Loonam

The National Cotton Ginners Association (NCGA) elected its 2020 officers and honored two ginners with its leadership and service awards during the organization’s annual meeting in New Orleans.

Elected as 2020 officers were:

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  • President – Curtis Stewart, Spade, TX
  • First Vice President – George LaCour, Jr., Morganza, LA
  • Second Vice President – Gene Seale, Pima, AZ
  • Third Vice President – Richard Lindsey, Centre, AL
  • Chairman – Wes Morgan, New London, NC.

Harrison Ashley of Cordova, Tenn., serves as NCGA’s executive vice president.

Horace Hayden National Cotton Ginner of the Year

Ron Craft, general manager of New-Tex Gin in Plains, TX, was honored as the 2019 Horace Hayden National Cotton Ginner of the Year – an annual award presented in recognition of able, efficient and faithful service to the ginning industry; and continuing the principles exemplified and practiced by former NCGA Executive Secretary Horace Hayden.

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Ron Craft

Craft has served in many U.S. cotton industry leadership capacities and provided many years of dedicated service. A fifth-generation ginner, he has served in multiple leadership roles with NCGA and with the National Cotton Council, including NCC Chairman in 2018.

He also is a former president of the Plains Cotton Ginners Association, Texas Cotton Ginners Association and Texas Independent Ginners Association. He has served as a Plains Cotton Growers director and currently serves as a Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation director.

Charles C. Owen Distinguished Service Award

Tim Loonam was the recipient of the NCGA’s 2019-20 Charles C. Owen Distinguished Service Award. For the past 30 years, the award has honored those who have provided a career of distinguished service to the U.S. ginning industry.

Tim Loonam

A Texas native, Navy veteran and graduate of Texas A&M University, Loonam has specialized in providing workers compensation insurance and loss control services for ag-related businesses since 1990.

Since 1996, he has served as administrator of the Texas Cotton Ginners Association’s Trust, helping the Trust grow its annual revenue premium from $4 million to just over $13 million and has expanded their coverage to include other agricultural operations. The Trust began with about 50 cotton gins and now has well over 150 Texas gins.

Loonam has long been an active member of the Safety Specialist Forum and makes it a point for his loss control team to participate and contribute to the Forum. He and his team also are active in the NCGA ginner schools each year.

Based on information provided by the National Cotton Council

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