FEB_25_Sweetpotato Speak

While work for The North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission was “ad hoc” during the work on the ‘cooperative issue’, NCSC was John’s first ever registered client as a lobbyist in 2010. Since then, he has worked tirelessly to see the Commission succeed. John was instrumental in securing a recurring international marketing allocation from the NC General Assembly, as well as the $5M G.A. grant to combat GRKN and, most recently, an additional recurring marketing allocation of $500k, annually. For his contribution to the NC Sweetpotato Industry, Commission and its growers, we were proud to present John Cooper the 2025 Distinguished Service Award.

However, they appear to have lost the race for North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice.On election night, the Republican challenger Judge Griffin was winning the race by over 10,000 votes. As the counting continued into the next week and provisional and absentee ballots were considered, that lead dwindled until eventually the incumbent Democratic Justice Allison Riggs was winning by 734 votes. This is an extremely small number in a race where over 5.5 million votes were cast. This race is subject to legal challenges which have been filed by the Republican Candidate, Judge Jefferson Griffin, and the final result may not be known for many weeks. Judge Griffin has filed a complaint in the Superior Court of Wake County which claims over 60,000 ballots were improper due to flaws with voters’ registration information and other issues. The media has been very critical of Judge Griffin’s lawsuit, but he is within his rights to file these protests and have them heard by the courts if he believes that illegal votes were counted. The balance of power on the court will

Democrats would help them set the stage for potentially taking back the court at a later date. If Judge Griffin were to win for the Republicans, it would expand their majority and make it harder for Democrats to take the court in future elections. Each year the board of directors has the privilege of selecting a recipient of the NC Sweetpotato Commission Distinguished Service Award . This award is to be presented to an individual (or individuals) who has rendered outstanding service to North Carolina’s sweetpotato industry. John Cooper has over 45 years of experience working as a corporate CEO and government agency administrator. John served in the administrations of three United States Presidents. He served as State Executive Director of the North Carolina Farm Service Agency from 1981 to 1992, under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. In April 2001, John was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as the State Director of USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) Rural Development for North Carolina.

not change regardless of the outcome, but a victory by the

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