State Representative Sam Watson will be the featured speaker at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College fall commencement ceremony on Dec. 14 at 10 a.m. in Gressette Gym.  A total of 176 graduates are expected to receive their diplomas at the ceremony.

ABAC President David Bridges and ABAC Alumni Association President Niki Vanderslice will present the prestigious George P. Donaldson Award and the ABAC Alumni Association Award to the top associate degree graduate and the top bachelor’s degree graduate participating in the ceremony.

Watson, a 1999 ABAC graduate, is the State Representative for House District 172 in the Georgia House of Representatives.  He is also a Colquitt County farmer who is the managing partner of Chill C Farms and the Moultrie Melon Company.  Watson was the recipient of the 2017 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award presented by the ABAC Alumni Association in recognition of alumni who have distinguished themselves through professional achievement, community service and service to ABAC.

Selected as the Freshman Legislator of the Year by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce in 2014, Watson is the Rural Caucus chairman in the House of Representatives and serves on the House agriculture committee.  He is also the vice-chair on the appropriations economic development subcommittee, vice chair on transportation, vice chair on natural resources, vice chair on special rules, and secretary on the retirement and ways and means committee.

A graduate of the University of Georgia with his bachelor’s degree in agriculture, Watson is also a graduate of the Georgia Agri-Leaders Forum, Leadership Colquitt County, and Leadership Georgia.

Watson is a member of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association, the Colquitt County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, and the Colquitt County Young Farmers Association.  A deacon at the First Baptist Church of Moultrie, Watson and his wife, Emily, have two children, Lily and Lucy.