The Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame recently inducted two distinguished leaders whose careers have profoundly shaped agriculture, education and industry in Georgia and beyond: County farmer and agribusiness leader Robert E. McLendon and longtime University of Georgia researcher, professor, and plant breeder Michael A. Dirr.
The 2026 inductees, who were honored at the 2026 UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) Alumni Association Awards on March 20, represent decades of service, innovation and leadership across farming, finance, research and teaching, reflecting the breadth and depth of Georgia agriculture’s impact.
Career rooted in Georgia farming, finance and rural leadership
Robert E. McLendon is a Georgia farmer, banker and agricultural leader whose career spans more than six decades in farming, finance and community service. Born in Blakely, Georgia, and raised in Early County, he has devoted his life to strengthening agriculture and rural economies across southwest Georgia.
McLendon graduated from Blakely High School and earned an associate degree from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) in 1961. He continued his education at UGA, earning a bachelor’s degree in forestry science in 1963.
His early professional experience included service with the U.S. Forest Service in California and work as a forester with Great Southern Paper Co. He later joined Mutual of New York, where he worked in the farm mortgage department.
In banking, McLendon served as executive vice president of Jordan Banking Co. and Wiregrass Bank and Trust Co. before returning to Jordan Banking Co., where he served as president from 1986 to 2002. Alongside his financial career, he has operated a successful cotton, corn and peanut farming operation in Calhoun County since 1974, maintaining a hands-on commitment to production agriculture.
McLendon’s leadership extended across numerous agribusinesses, including MAC Peanut Co., Edison Gin Co-op, and Sunshine Warehouse of Arlington. He has also been a partner in multiple storage and logistics ventures and has served as a bank director and board member for organizations throughout the agricultural sector.
At the national level, McLendon has been a respected voice in cotton policy and leadership through Southern Cotton Growers, Cotton Incorporated and the National Cotton Council, where he served as the organization’s first Georgia-based president in 2000-01.
His many honors include the ABAC Master Farmer Award in 1994, Sunbelt Ag Expo Georgia Farmer of the Year in 1999, and 2022 Outstanding Georgia Peanut Farmer of the Year Award for District 1 from the Georgia Peanut Commission and Agri Supply.
Enduring impact through teaching, plant patents and industry innovation
Michael A. Dirr is an internationally respected horticulturist whose career has been defined by influential research, exceptional teaching and transformative contributions to woody ornamental plant breeding. His work has had a lasting impact on horticultural science and the global nursery and landscape industries.
Dirr’s passion for plants began early through vegetable gardening with his father, operating a small roadside stand with his sisters, maintaining gardens and lawns, and working in a local nursery.
He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in horticulture from The Ohio State University and a doctorate in plant physiology from the University of Massachusetts in 1972. Dirr began his academic career at the University of Illinois, where he served as an assistant and associate professor of horticulture from 1972 to 1979. During this period, he was selected as a Mercer Fellow at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, completing a sabbatical from 1978 to 1979.
In 1979, Dirr accepted the position of director of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, where he secured funding for the Alice Hand Callaway Conservatory and Visitors Center. In 1981, he transferred to a teaching and research position in CAES where he led extensive programs in woody plant trialing, breeding and evaluation and became widely known for his rigorous instruction and commitment to student mentorship.
Dirr’s research centered on woody ornamental plants, with particular emphasis on hydrangeas, including propagation, drought tolerance, disease resistance, and heat and cold hardiness. Dirr’s discovery of the remontant, or reblooming, Hydrangea macrophylla changed the hydrangea market worldwide. His introductions, marketed under the Endless Summer® brand, have sold more than 35 million plants worldwide since 2004.
Dirr has authored 10 books, including two monographs on hydrangea and another on viburnum. His classic tome, “The Manual of Woody Landscape Plants,” now in its sixth edition and 51st year, is the most widely adopted teaching and nursery reference in the U.S. During his tenure in Georgia, Dirr also authored 50 refereed journal articles, was granted 30 plant patents and introduced more than 200 plants into cultivation.
His research achievements earned him designation as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2015, the UGA Research Foundation’s Inventor of the Year Award in 2009, and the Liberty Hyde Bailey Medal from the American Horticultural Society, the highest award in national horticulture.
His teaching achievements earned him some of the profession’s highest honors, including the D.W. Brooks Excellence in Teaching Award and designation as a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor. Nationally, Dirr received the Great American Gardeners Teaching Award from the American Horticultural Society, the L.C. Chadwick Outstanding Educator Award from the American Nursery and Landscape Association, the Outstanding Undergraduate Educator Award from the American Society for Horticultural Science, and the Teaching Award of Merit from the National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture.
As a tribute to his contributions, generous private support allowed the UGA Department of Horticulture to establish the Michael A. Dirr Professorship Fund, which supports the work and the influence of the woody ornamental plant position.
In addition to his academic career, Dirr has been a partner in two Watkinsville-based plant breeding companies. Plant Introductions Inc. bred and patented more than 60 plants before it was sold in 2015. He currently owns and operates Premier Introductions Inc. with two partners. The company holds 18 plant patents.
How to visit
To learn more about this year’s honorees and previous inductees, visit the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame on its website or in person at the Four Towers CAES Student Activity Center on UGA’s East Campus in Athens.
The Ag Hall of Fame is open to visitors during regular university business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
