During the National Cotton Ginners Association (NCGA) Annual Meeting held recently in Fort Worth, Texas, California ginner Stan Creelman was elected president. Creelman grew up on a cotton and grain farm in Lemoore, Calif., was an active member and judge in Future Farmers of America, and in 1978 began his ginning career at J.D. Heiskell & Co.

In 1989 he started working for Mid-Valley Cotton Growers in Tulare where he has been manager since 1991. “I look forward to the challenge of working through issues that impact the NCGA. I want to continue the positive momentum David Blakemore sustained during his term as President,” says Creelman.

Active in both state and national cotton arenas, Creelman has been president of the California Grower Owned Gins Association twice and served one term as chairman of the California Cotton Ginners Association. He was named California Ginner of the Year in 2001 and was named as an officer on the NCGA board in 2015.

Creelman was the recipient of the NCGA’s Horace Hayden Ginner of the Year award in 2011. “Stan is not only a veteran ginner but his long tenure in ginning leadership positions will be of great value to the NCGA during his term as president,” says Harrison Ashley, vice president, Ginner Service, National Cotton Council.

Outgoing NCGA President David Blakemore, Campbell, Mo., has an extensive list of leadership positions on grower and ginner boards. He is heavily involved in and has served on numerous leadership positions with Ducks Unlimited at both the state and national levels. He is president of Blakemore Cotton & Grain, LLC, with interests in ginning, grain, fertilizer, and trucking. He concluded his one-year term at the close of the 2018 meeting.

Incoming President Creelman presented Blakemore with a Gin Saw Service Award commemorating his time as president. “David has left me some rather large shoes to fill. He has done an outstanding job leading our organization and I look forward to working with the NCGA staff to move our association forward,” concludes Creelman.