Palmetto AgriBusiness Council elects new officers

The Palmetto AgriBusiness Council (PABC) announced the election of officers for 2019. Cam Crawford, President and CEO of the Forestry Association of South Carolina, was elected Chairman. Harry L. Ott, Jr., President of the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, was elected Vice Chairman; and Sarah Windham, Partner with Dixon Hughes Goodman, LLP was re-elected Secretary/Treasurer. PABC represents some of the largest agribusiness employers in the state with a mission to promote the economic viability of South Carolina’s largest industry.

A member of the PABC Board of Directors since 2011, Crawford has served as Vice Chairman and Secretary Treasurer of the organization. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the South Carolina Civil Justice Coalition, as a member of the Board of Directors for Palmetto Green, and previously served as Chairman of the Forest Industry Associations Council, on the Board of Directors for the National Alliance of Forest Owners, and as a member of the American Forest Foundation’s Woodland Operating Committee. He attended Coastal Carolina University, graduated from the University of South Carolina and received a Master of Arts in Management from Webster University.

“As the grandson of a man that owned a dairy farm and logging company, I am extremely honored to be taking on this new role and working with PABC CEO Ronnie Summers and all the Council representatives, who’ve put their faith in me,” Crawford said. “Agriculture and forestry are a significant part of my family’s heritage.”

Ott is a row crop farmer from Calhoun County where he and his brother, Mark, produce cotton, corn, and peanuts on the family farm near St. Matthews. A graduate of Clemson University, he served on the local school board for 12 years and then served in the South Carolina House of Representatives for 15 years. He resigned his seat in the General Assembly in 2013 to accept an appointment as State Director for the USDA Farm Service Agency for South Carolina and served in this position from 2013 to 2015. He was elected the sixth President of the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation in 2015. He is also a member of the Business and Industry Political Education Committee (BIPEC) and the Clemson Cooperative Extension 4-H Foundation Advisory Board.

Windham has been practicing as a CPA since 2001 and throughout her career with Dixon Hughes Goodman, LLP has developed extensive experience in several financial areas, including tax planning, business consultation, and generational wealth planning/succession planning. Her vast industry knowledge includes agribusiness, as well as construction and real estate. She has served as a speaker and CPE presenter at a variety of industry association conferences and events, and has provided testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Subcommittee Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access on behalf of South Carolina Farm Bureau. A graduate of Wofford College with a B.A. in Accounting, Windham is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, SC Association of Certified Public Accountants, Women to Watch Emerging Leader; and a Board member of the Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust.

“The Palmetto AgriBusiness Council is very fortunate to be led by such a well-respected and experienced slate of officers,” CEO Summers said. “Their wealth of knowledge will be an asset in continuing PABC’s commitment to sustain and grow South Carolina’s agriculture and forestry sectors.”