The screening of "Farmers for America: Who Will Feed Us?", which features Kenneth Georgia, was, at its heart, a gathering and celebration of the local farming community.
The film may have been the reason for last Thursday evening's event, but Georgia was the common denominator among attendees. The result of Georgia's ties was a guest list consisting of many of the area's prominent agricultural and political figures.
"I told Kenneth that I wanted to be like him when I grow up," Kosciusko Ward 2 Alderman Henry Daniel, age 68, said of the younger Kosciusko-Attala Career Tech teacher.
Also in attendance were Kosciusko Ward 1 Alderman Taylor Casey, Mississippi Farm Bureau President Mike McCormick, Attala County Farm Bureau President James Raspberry and Rep. Kenneth Walker of District 27. McCormick and Raspberry also participated in a six-member panel discussion, which was facilitated by film creator Graham Meriwether.
The event was hosted in the Skylight Grill Monroe Room in downtown Kosciusko, which was filled to capacity. Jack Adams, Skylight owner and chef, was also a member of the panel. Adams, along with Georgia and the Kosciusko Attala Partnership, which was represented at the screening by Executive Director Darren Milner, organized the event.
"(May's) Farm-to-Table event was such a phenomenal success that we immediately decided to do something else," Adams said, as he explained the genesis of the screening.
"Within days, the filmmaker (Graham) contacted me via phone. We just started working on a date to show the film, and then decided to pair that again with a kind of later-harvest farm-to-table."
Supplying the food that Adams prepared for the event were local farmers, many of whom were in attendance and constituted the majority of the audience. Members of both the Attala County Self Help Cooperative Farmers Market, located in Sallis, and the Attala County Farmers Market, which is managed by Georgia and located in Kosciusko, attended.
The event began with a welcome from Georgia, followed by a blessing of the food by Reverend David Newell, who is also the Self Help Co-op current president.
"First of all, I'd like to thank God for this fellowship, this opportunity where we can be with one another and have some fun, relax and celebrate the goodness God has done for us," said Newell. The prayer was capped with three hearty “Amens,” led by Newell.
The 28-member Sallis-based farmer's market was also represented by the co-op's former president, Jesse J. Flemming and his wife Juanita.
Members of the Attala County Farmer's Market were also in attendance, including Sarah Rick, who appears in the film.
"I like to toot the (Attala County Farmer's Market's) horn a little bit," said Georgia, following the screening. "It's got to be the longest running farmer's market in the state. They take a short break around Thanksgiving, and then greens remain on sale right up through January, weather permitting."
Officially, the market begins in May and ends in November. However, according to Georgia, it is not uncommon for it to open for business in April.
The film is, "...a story of young people who are stepping up," according to leaveitbetter.com, the website for an organization founded by Graham, the documentary director. It is this angle that led Graham to Georgia, who not only teaches Agricultural Environmental Science and Education (AEST) for the Kosciusko-Attala Career-Tech Center, but also serves as the adviser for the local FFA chapter. Trey Johnson, last year's FFA president, Kristin Roby and Mark Stewart, who appears in the film, are former students of Georgia's who showed up in support of their mentor.
The evening concluded with the panel discussion, which also included Georgia, Beaver Dam Farms owner Jerry Pinion and Ryer Farms' Jody Ryer.
Fittingly, Georgia and the other Attala County residents who are in the film appear in the documentary's fifth segment, which is entitled “Together.”
For more information on Graham's documentary "Farmers for America: Who Will Feed Us?", visit leaveitbetter.com.
The Attala County Self Help Cooperative Farmer's Market is held at 5 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month, during season, and is located one building north of Long Creek Elementary School on Highway 429 in Sallis.
The Attala County Farmer's Market is held on Fridays from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m. until noon at the intersection of Highway 12 and Veteran’s Memorial Drive. Anyone seeking more information about the market may contact Kenneth Georgia at 662-312-2891.
