The past few weeks, we have been introducing the Rural Center team here on the blog. Last but definitely not least, is our interim director, Dr. David Bridges.
Dr. David Bridges, right, with his son, Rees, on the family's farm in Terrell County.
Dr. David Bridges is the center's interim director. Raised on a farm in southwest Georgia’s Terrell County, Dr. Bridges’ understanding of and concern for the state’s small towns and rural communities were a driving force behind the center’s establishment. Dr. Bridges has served as president of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton since 2006. Prior to his tenure at ABAC, he led the University of Georgia’s Tifton campus as assistant dean of UGA’s College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. Dr. Bridges is a highly respected agriculturist who spent the first 18 years of his career in the classroom as a faculty member first at Texas A&M University, where he earned his Ph.D., and subsequently at UGA. He holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Auburn University as well as an associate’s degree from ABAC. He and his wife, Kim, have two grown children and two grandchildren.
What is one item that's produced in rural Georgia that you would not want to live without? "Musicians!! And this is just a partial list of all the greats:
Otis Redding - Dawson
Chuck Leavell - born in Alabama but lives in Georgia
Trisha Yearwood - Monticello
Luke Bryan - Leesburg
Philip Philips - Leesburg
Sam Hunt - Cedartown
Cole Swindell - Bronwood
Fletcher Henderson - Cuthbert
Kimberly Shlapman - Cornelia
Jennifer Nettles - Douglas
Zac Brown - Dahlonega
Kip Moore - Tifton
Blind Tom Wiggins - Harris County
Boudleaux Bryant - Shellman"