Abit Massey, President Emeritus of the Georgia Poultry Federation passed on June 15th at the age of 96. Massey was born in Hall County, GA. in 1927 and received a business degree from the University of Georgia in 1949 and a law degree from Emory University in 1955. He was appointed as the Director of the Georgia Department of Commerce in 1959.
Massey became president of the Georgia Poultry Foundation in 1960 and served for 48 years. He was inducted into the Poultry Industry Hall of Fame in 2019. Other honors included the 1986 UGA Alumni Merit Award, the USPOULTRY 2012 Harold E Ford Lifetime Achievement Award and the Inaugural Medallion of Honor for service to the UGA College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.
The poultry industry has lost a strong supporter and advocate respected by all and characterized informally as “the best Governor Georgia never had”. He will be sadly missed.