The Cotton Board recently held its 2021 Annual Meeting in Durham, North Carolina, along with Cotton Incorporated’s Board of Directors. This is the first in-person meeting for both boards since March 2020. At the meeting, board members serving the Cotton Research and Promotion Program reviewed, analyzed, and voted to recommend Cotton Incorporated’s 2022 budget. The new $82 million budget reflects a $2 million increase from 2021.
Cotton Incorporated’s 2022 plan and budget remains focused on addressing several key industry issues. They include increasing producer profitability, addressing plastic contamination issues that threaten U.S. cotton’s reputation, enhancing supply chain transparency, traceability, sustainability and circularity, and maintaining strong consumer and industry promotion efforts.
Comments on the 2022 plan and budget from Berrye Worsham, President and CEO of Cotton Incorporated, can be viewed, and listened to below.
Video by: The Cotton Board
Also, The Cotton Board re-elected its current slate of officers for an additional one-year term. This is to provide the current officer leadership with the opportunity to participate in on-site, in-person meetings.
The Cotton Board Chairman, Jimmy Webb, a producer from Leary, Georgia, said “Thank you to the men and women who volunteer their time to serve on The Cotton Board and Cotton Incorporated Board of Directors. I cannot thank you all enough for all you’ve taught me and how you have responded over the past year. Our membership separates us from the rest of the pack. The diversity in our backgrounds, our experiences, and our perspectives help us move our industry forward.”
The full slate of Cotton Board officers are:
- Jimmy Webb, Producer from Leary, Georgia, Chairman
- Sonja Chapman, Importer from Boonton, New Jersey, Vice Chairman
- Mark Nichols, Producer from Altus, Oklahoma, Secretary
- Akiko Inui, Importer from New York City, New York, Treasurer