honorary and alumni initiates
The N. C. State University chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta, the honor society of agriculture, initiated four individuals who have shown distinguished service and leadership. Weldon B. Denny, Owen W. Robertson, David C. Rouzer and Joseph C. Stoffregen were honored at the April 24 ceremonies, the 47th annual initiation ceremony and awards banquet of the N.C. State GSD chapter, at Talley Student Center.
Denny, a native of Pilot Mountain and honorary GSD initiate, is the chief deputy commissioner of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, a position he assumed when Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps took office this year. It is just the latest role in a lifetime of service to agriculture in the state.
Alumni initiate Robertson, who has worked in numerous roles in service to the feed industry since 1950, has been the secretary-treasurer of the Carolina Feed Industry Association since 1985. He represents the vast majority of the animal feeding and allied industry businesses in North and South Carolina.
Rouzer, an alumni initiate, is assistant to the dean and director of commodity relations for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Previously he was the legislative assistant for agricultural issues for U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms.
The third alumni initiate, Stoffregen, is vice president of Homewood Nursery, a prominent greenhouse and garden center in Raleigh. He has been a leader in the nursery industry, serving as president of the N.C. Horticulture Council and as treasurer and president of the N.C. Commercial Flower Growers Association.
Gamma Sigma Delta began as a professional agricultural fraternity at Ohio State University in 1905. The society’s objectives are to encourage high standards of scholarship in all branches of agriculture and life sciences, as well as to encourage and recognize excellence in education and in the practice of agricultural pursuits
—Terri
Leith
