By Clint Thompson
As if peanut butter sandwiches and peanuts were not enough to entice people to the Georgia Peanut Commission (GPC) building at next week’s Sunbelt Ag Expo, the GPC will have a pair of special guests to greet attendees.
Anthony Alfredo, a NASCAR driver also known as “Fast Pasta,” drove the Georgia Peanuts car in the Atlanta Motor Speedway and most recently at the Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. He’ll be at the GPC building for a meet and greet session on Wednesday, Oct. 20 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Hannah Dasher, a Nashville recording artist and TikTok personality who has a cooking segment entitled, “Stand By Your Pan,” will be at the GPC building for a meet and greet session on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 3:30 p.m.
“Having Anthony Alfredo there will be a great way to create excitement for people to come by the Peanut Commission building and be able to shake his hand; meet and greet,” said Justin Odom with the Georgia Peanut Commission. “Hannah Dasher will actually be doing a cooking demo at the Georgia Grown Marketplace in the Family Living Building on Tuesday. She’s got two different demos. One’s at 12:30 p.m. and one’s at 2 p.m. I believe both of those she’ll be incorporating Georgia peanuts into those recipes.”
Promoting Peanuts
The Georgia Peanut Commission conducts programs in three different areas: promotion, research and education. Their sponsorship of Alfredo and affiliation with Dasher shows their promotion levels are expanding beyond Georgia.
“Hannah Dasher, she’s a Nashville recording artist and also a TikTok personality. She’s got a big following on TikTok. She does this segment called, “Stand By Your Pan,” where she does these different recipes. She’s actually done several where she’s used peanuts in the recipe. So that’s been a good way to get Georgia peanuts promoted,” Odum said.
“Then Anthony Alfredo, him being the NASCAR driver and us being able to sponsor that car; we sponsored it at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and at this past Talladega Superspeedway. There are millions of people who watch those NASCAR races. Seeing those Georgia Peanuts across the hood of that car is a great way to promote Georgia peanuts for us.”
More than 1,200 exhibitors and thousands of visitors are expected to visit the 100-acre show site during the three days; Oct. 19-21. Gates will open at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.