College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences announces 2024 alum award winners

The College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences honored three of its alums for their service to Clemson, CAFLS and the agribusiness industry at a ceremony Friday, Dec. 13.

The CAFLS Alumni Awards, which began in 2015, recognizes the college's outstanding alums. It is managed by the CAFLS Agriculture Board of Directors.

"Not only has this year's group of CAFLS Alumni Award winners gone on to excel in their careers, but they have done so while continuing to give back to the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, helping to ensure that future alums will also succeed in their endeavors," said Matt Holt, dean of CAFLS.

Lambert "Bert" McCarty, Distinguished Service Award

McCarty is a professor emeritus of plant and environmental sciences specializing in turfgrass science and management. He graduated from Clemson in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in agronomy and soils and has been a faculty member at his alma mater for 28 years.

McCarty is well known and a sought-after speaker in the world of turfgrass. Several companies have looked to his involvement in testing new herbicides. Being known nationally for this knowledge, dedication, and research in the turfgrass industry has led to McCarty receiving numerous awards, including most recently being the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award by the Carolina's Golf Course Superintendent Association in 2018.

In 2014, he received the Fred Grau Award through the Crop Science Society as the top national and international turfgrass science researcher. He is a Societal Fellow, the highest recognition by the society. He was selected as a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy in 2016. This was the first recipient of either award by a Clemson University professor.

One nominator said, "Bert is a tremendous ambassador for Clemson University. You could not find a better extension, teacher and researcher. Bert had many graduate students who are now in the turfgrass industry or academia."

Aaron Wood, 2024 Professional Achievement Award

Wood received his bachelor's degree in agricultural education in '01 and his master's in human resource development in '03 from Clemson. He is currently the assistant commissioner for agency operations at the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, where he has been since 2005. Prior to that, he was an instructor at Piedmont Technical College.

As an instructor, Wood helped upgrade Piedmont Tech's agricultural footprint in South Carolina He was head of the horticulture program and visited high schools across the state to recruit students to PTC with the intent to continue their education at Clemson.

In his current role, Wood oversees the commissioner's office, information technology, grants management, state farmers markets and administration divisions.

"Aaron is a proud Clemson CAFLS alum, and I appreciate the relationships he has, and has kept, over the years with the University and CAFLS staff," said one nominator. "Aaron has been heavily involved with PLEAF, the South Carolina Commissioner's School of Agriculture, and always gets back to campus to speak to CAFLS classes about SCDA. Aaron understands the importance of partnership with CAFLS; he is always willing to collaborate, problem solve and advocate together."

Addie Stone, 2024 Young Alumni Award

Stone, who graduated from Clemson in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in agribusiness, received the Young Alumni Award.

In January of 2021, Stone began an internship with the policy and external relations team at the Texas Department of Agriculture. Though she originally planned to go to graduate school in the fall of 2021, she quickly realized that working at TDA provided numerous opportunities for learning and professional growth. In June of 2021, she transitioned to the role of program outreach specialist where she improved her skills in agricultural policy analysis and gained experience in stakeholder engagement.

She was tasked with leading TDA's Food Access Study, a project that lasted two years and led to legislation being passed by the state. By spring of 2022, Stone was promoted to policy specialist. This change entailed taking a more active role in planning for the 2023 legislative session and gave her the opportunity to represent TDA at regional and national events. In spring of 2023, she was promoted to government relations specialist which gave her considerable autonomy for initiating and planning legislative activities and became the main point of contact for stakeholders to engage with the legislative affairs team.

Stone has also been selected to be a part of the Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership Program XVIII cohort and has earned a certificate in Public Policy Analysis from the London School of Economics.

She is currently enrolled in the double degree in Political Economy of Development between Sciences Po in Paris, France, and the London School of Economics. Stone received the Global Grant Scholarship from the Rotary Club to support her studies. She just began her first semester at Sciences Po where she is studying environmental policy with an emphasis in food and agriculture. For the second year, she will move to LSE and study development management. Her goal is to understand the differences between U.S. and EU agricultural policy and how each entity uses agricultural policy in diplomatic and development negotiations. She is also working on a partnership between TDA and the Agricultural Trade Office in Paris to facilitate new trade opportunities between Texas and France.

"Despite her very busy schedule, Ms. Stone always finds opportunities to support CAFLS students and return to her alma mater," her nominator said. "Most recently, she was invited for a guest lecture in the Newman Seminar, offered by the Department of Agricultural Sciences, and for the farm management class. … I believe Ms. Stone personifies all the attributes that CAFLS is looking for in a young alumni award."