JUNE 7, 2022: The Georgia Association of Conservation Districts (GACD) has appointed Roger Bowman of Ringgold, GA as Board Member Emeritus. This honorary position was extended to Bowman at GACD’s June 7 Board Meeting in Macon, GA in recognition of his long and valued history with the Association and efforts in promoting soil and water conservation.
GACD Board Members Emeritus act as advisors to the Board of Directors, adding to the Board’s knowledge and experience, and provide enhanced continuity of leadership. Board Members Emeritus shall have all rights and privileges of other Board Members, except they shall not have voting privileges.
Bowman has been a District Supervisor for the Catoosa County Conservation District since 2000 and has served as Chair for 19 years. He served as a Board Member of GACD for 12 years, most recently serving as Vice- President. He was inducted into the Southeastern Conservation Hall of Fame in 2021 and the GACD Hall of Fame in 2018. His father, Roger Bowman, Sr. was a founding member of the Catoosa County Conservation District and is also a member of GACD’s Hall of Fame.
Roger grew up as the third generation on a 350-acre farm in Catoosa County. Helping his father install terraces and retention ponds on their ridgeland farm and maintain drainage systems on their bottomland farm, Roger had an early firsthand education on contemporary conservation practices. While in high school he worked as summer intern with the local Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service). This, along with his participation in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Natural Resources Conservation Program solidified his interest in natural resource conservation.
Roger graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Economics and began working in sales for an industrial company in Nashville, Tennessee serving the mining, construction, and forestry industries. During this time Roger completed his Master of Business Administration at Vanderbilt University. In 1991 Roger founded a company distributing and servicing power generation systems in Kentucky and Tennessee. This business expanded to include operations in North and South Carolina and Georgia.
In 1997, Roger and Kay moved back to the farm in Catoosa County where now, six generations of the Bowman family have walked on Full Circle Farm. During this time Roger served the County as Chair of the Planning and Zoning Board for several years and later as Vice-Chair of the Economic Development Authority. Roger’s love of the land and its conservation also fostered a lifelong passion for hunting, fishing and training bird dogs. Roger is a long-time history researcher and genealogist, and serves on the Board of the Catoosa County Historical Society.
Roger and his wife Kay met at the University of Georgia and have been married 57 years. They reside in Ringgold and have three children, six grandchildren and one great grandson. Family is the largest part of their lives.
The mission of GACD is to advocate for the conservation of Georgia’s natural resources by providing organization, leadership and a unified strategic direction to the Conservation Districts of the state. For more information on GACD or to explore opportunities on how you can support our efforts, please visit us online at www.gacd.us or on Facebook @GACDConserve.