Josiah Phelps

Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame

Josiah Phelps' work with FFA has positively impacted thousands of young people throughout Georgia and the nation. While teaching vocational agriculture at Waynesboro, he was simultaneously named executive secretary of the New Farmers of America (NFA), an organization of African American young people, and director of the Camp John Hope, a facility for young agricultural students. With the merger of the NFA and the FFA in 1965, Mr. Phelps was named assistant FFA executive secretary. In 1980, he became FFA executive secretary.

After his retirement in 1982, he began to enlist former students into the FFA Alumni Association. He led his own Fort Valley affiliate, as well as the Fort Valley State unit, as he traveled the state urging groups to support vocational agriculture. In 1989, Mr. Phelps was elected president of the National FFA Alumni Association.

In honor of his dedication to vocational agriculture, Mr. Phelps was inducted as a charter member of the Georgia Agricultural Education Hall of Fame in January 2000.