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The Earl Cheek Cotton Trust Fund
Earl Cheek graduated from High School in 1933 with the drive and academic accomplishments to attend college. Cheek's father, who was a cotton farmer, helped his son enter the University of Georgia by giving him a bale of cotton to pay his tuition. Colonel Cheek later earned his masters degree and has enjoyed 37 years as a teacher of vocational agriculture and leader for the Future Farmers of America. During these thirty-seven years his FFA Chapter received many state and national honors including nineteen Gold Emblem Chapter Awards and five top State Awards. He was recognized in 1974 as GeorgiaÕs first Vocational Teacher of the Year (all services). Mr. Cheek was a World War II Army Air Corps Flight Officer and served 8 1/2 years as an administrative aid to Senator Sam Nunn. He retired from the United States Air Force after 29 years of active and reserve service. As a result of that bale of cotton, Colonel Cheek dedicated 64 years to community, state and national service. In appreciation, he created the Cotton Trust Fund in January 1998. The interested earned from the fund is used to maintain and support the Georgia State Cotton Museum in Vienna, Georgia. The museum has been established to serve as an educational facility that tells the story of cotton from seed to finished product. The artifacts, videos, reading materials and photographs help to describe the history of cotton farming and its importance in our economy today. To become a trustee, contact The Vienna Historic Preservation Society, P.O. Box 309, Vienna, GA 31092 (telephone: 229/268-3663, or email: vhps@sowega.net). Any level of donation is appreciated. Names of trustees, who donate $1,000.00 or more, are placed on the Trust plaque, which hangs in the Cotton Museum. All donations are appreciated and are tax deductible. The Cotton Museum also accepts honors and memorials and sends acknowledgements to appropriate parties. The Trust depository is maintained by The Bank of Dooly. |
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