Dear UAC members and supporters,

We are all keeping our fingers crossed that the spring rainfall will continue through the summer. Not monsoons, but nice, steady late afternoon rain is always appreciated once July and August roll in!

There is a lot of great information in this Summer 2025 issue of the UAC Magazine, including the “2025 Legislative report” by Bryan Tolar, Tolar Capitol Partners. Hundreds of bills were debated during the 2025 legislative session. UAC is pleased to be engaged in policy issues throughout the year and to represent our industry at the State Capitol.

Thanks to all who donated to UAC’s Georgia GrowPAC in 2024, used to support lawmakers who support our industry and are open to our advocacy. In 2024, Georgia GrowPAC received $23,500 in donations from UAC members and disbursed these funds to lawmakers. We hope you will consider helping us reach our goal of $25,000 for 2025. We appreciate your consideration in continuing to support this effort by donating at urbanagcouncil.com/growpac. Together we grow!

The results of our Strategic Planning session, held on June 10-11 and led by Lowell Aplebaum, EdD, will be shared in the coming months. This session is important as the board determines the future direction of the Georgia Urban Ag Council through 2025 and beyond.

The UAC Board selected VistaCova for strategic planning services, following recommendations from colleagues. VistaCova consults for a broad range of industries, both profit and non-profit, consistently guiding organizational leadership through processes of envisioning renewed purposes and missions and aligning organizational strengths with stakeholder needs. They approach each engagement with a focus on deeply listening to diverse perspectives, posing challenging questions, and identifying points of insight and consensus. As they prepare for discussions and facilitated sessions, they collaborate with leadership to intentionally design session formats that build towards the desired objectives—highlighting and elevating the passion of stakeholders and leaders, thereby uncovering opportunities, and bringing renewed focus to the overall vision of the organization.

Thank you to everyone who was contacted earlier this year by VistaCova and completed a survey to assist with planning the strategic planning session. Members were selected based on factors such as location, company size, service/product offerings, and length of UAC membership, to get a balanced representation of our membership. Additionally, past and current UAC leaders were interviewed for their insights. Your feedback is appreciated, and we look forward to sharing the Strategic Plan and implementing the recommendations to improve the association.

Our fall networking events begin on August 26, where we will visit Cultivation Brewery in Norcross. UAC member Britt Lancaster is one of the owners, and he looks forward to hosting us for the event. We’ll be in Roswell on October 7, at Caldwell Tree Care (outside, under the stars) and then go to Newnan on October 30 for the annual Sporting Clays Tournament at Blalock Lakes. Look for more events throughout the fall and winter!