Colquitt County’s Agri-Business Person of the Year, Patrick Mobley, left, receives the award from Allen McCorvey, right, chairman of the chamber’s Agribusiness/Rural Services Committee.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce honored three local leaders Tuesday night with the annual Man of the Year, Woman of the Year and Agri-Business Person of the Year awards. This year’s Woman of the Year award may be unique: It is believed to be the first time one of the annual awards has been presented posthumously.

Recipients are: Woman of the Year Mary Trescott, Man of the Year William “Bill” McIntosh and Agri-Business Person of the Year Patrick Mobley.

Woman of the Year: Mary Trescot

Mary Trescot, who died Nov. 28, was active in a variety of local and state organizations and was known locally for her volunteer efforts. Whitney Costin submitted the nomination form about a month before Trescot died.

“The title of the Woman of the Year should be given to an outstanding female who is deeply engaged in Colquitt County, generously gives of themself in the form of community service and strives to better the community through outreach and works for the benefit of our residents,” Costin wrote in her nomination letter. “Mary Trescot is an absolute example of this charge.”

Costin cited Trescot’s involvement in civic service at other places she’d lived before coming to Moultrie.

“It was an absolute blessing for Colquitt County that she transferred to Moultrie,” Costin wrote. “Upon arriving in Moultrie she not only immersed herself in the management of her husband, Dr. Ron Trescot’s bustling OB-Gyn practice, but also immediately found countless ways to engage in the community and serve all around her.”

Trescot participated in the Moultrie YMCA, the Georgia OB-GYN Society, the Service Corps of Retired Executives, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, the Y’s Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, Action Pack Families, the United Way and Relay for Life.

“Of course, she is deeply rooted in the LIVESTRONG program offering a support group to cancer patients and survivors,” Costin wrote. “Mary, who has been fighting cancer herself over five and half years is an integral piece of this program — not just as a certified facilitator and instructor but as a true connection to each participant. Her energy, enthusiasm and engaging personality gives her an incredible bond with the participants in a unique way and allows her to minister to them while facing the same battle.”

Trescot’s work with the LIVESTRONG program also impressed Brian Elliott, director of Colquitt Regional Medical Center’s oncology department. He was a caregiver for her during her cancer battle.

“Mary embodies selflessness and going above and beyond — many times at the expense of herself,” Elliott wrote in support of her nomination. “She has discovered a way to minister to others while at the same time facing many of the same trials that other cancer survivors whom she helps face as well. Wherever she goes, she is looking for opportunities to give of herself. Even sitting in a chemotherapy chair undergoing treatment, I have watched her be attentive to the physical and emotional needs of others as they undergo treatment.”

Other letters of recommendation came in from Bob Swadel and Robin McCord of the YMCA, other Colquitt Regional Medical Center staff, Bob Montgomery of SCORE, Dawn Blanton of the Humane Society of Moultrie and Colquitt County, and Shannon Bell of Hero House.

Man of the Year: Bill McIntosh

William McLeod “Bill” McIntosh has served as Moultrie’s mayor since 1983.   Realtor Debbie Mock nominated McIntosh, an attorney, who among other duties has closed many real estate sales.

“When we are in a real estate closing he always makes every client feel so at ease and welcome,” Mock wrote in her nomination letter. “He tells them about the great things our city offers, about the great people that make up our wonderful community. But the one thing I will always remember is that he always welcomes them to church. He is a dear, sincere man of God.”

McIntosh’s children, Cathryn McIntosh Houchins and Will McIntosh, wrote their support.

“On my last trip home I found an essay I’d written at R.B. Wright about someone whom I admired,” the letter read. “My letter was about my Dad, and despite my limited life experience, repeatedly used one word to describe him: selfless. At that point I can only assume that I didn’t fully understand the weight or imortance of that word, but what I did know was that he spent all of his energy doing for others and to me that was the definition of being selfless.”

Lamar Norton, executive director of the Georgia Municipal Association, called McIntosh “one of the state’s finest public servants at any level of government.”

“He is a selfless leader of great integrity who never seeks credit or the public limelight for any accomplishments but instead serves simply to enhance the quality of life for the citizens of his community and the state of Georgia,” Norton wrote.

McIntosh served as president of the GMA in 1994-95 and has remained an active member of the association’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

Superior Court Judge Brian McDaniel hearkened back to his early days as an attorney to talk about McIntosh’s role as Juvenile Court judge, a job he’s held for more than 20 years.

“When I entered the practice of law in the summer of 1995 at Short & Fowler, one of my primary duties was representing the Department of Family and Children’s Services,” McDaniel wrote. “Many of these cases involved Juvenile Court hearings with heart-breaking circumstances. Bill McIntosh was, and still is, the Juvenile Court judge who hears and rules on all of these sad matters. … Bill had the task of educating me on the way a courtroom works and how to be an effective advocate for my clients.

“Just as importantly, maybe moreso, Bill taught me to see the people who were in court and not just focus on their problems,” McDaniel wrote. “People’s lives, the custody of their children, even the parental rights to their children were at stake, Bill did not see them as bad people, they were people who had problems that he truly wanted to help make them whole again. I would, in my youth, occasionally get upset with Bill’s rulings because he would give someone ‘one more opportunity’ to get their lives back in order. It is only now that I am a judge and I too have to make many of those same decisions about people’s lives that I can truly appreciate how difficult a job it is to balance right and wrong balanced with compassion and sometimes harshness. Bill was able to find that balance and always ruled fairly and compassionately.”

Other letters of support came from McIntosh’s law partner, William Fallin; Colquitt County Administrator Chas Cannon; Moultrie City Manager Peter Dillard, who is a neighbor of McIntosh; Jack Gay, the secretary of the Kiwanis Club of Moultrie, of which McIntosh is a former president; Angela Castellow, a city councilwoman who serves as executive director of United Way of Colquitt County, which he has long supported; Ella Fast, former city clerk; David Herndon, the city’s Municipal Court judge; Joseph Matchett, executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Moultrie/Colquitt County; Lillar Shepheard; Fraley Turnipseed; the Rev. Stephen Grantham; Mary Braggs; and NAACP President Isabella Brooks.

Agri-Business Person of the Year: Patrick Mobley

Patrick Mobley, owner of several agricultural businesses in Colquitt County and elsewhere, was nominated by family, friends and business associates collectively. Realtor Debbie Mock signed the nomination form.

“He has built, along with his wife, Farolyn, a legacy for their children to be able to follow in their dad’s footsteps,” Mock wrote. “Family is very important to Patrick. God is important to Patrick, and his community is important to Patrick.”

Several people provided letters of support for Mobley’s nomination. Many focused on his business accomplishments.

“Patrick Mobley absolutely represents everything that the modern agribusiness man should represent … a work ethic typical of farmers for many years; utilitzation of the ultimate in technology and farming techniques; professionalism in hiring and motivating dedicated personnel; and exemplary leadership in all aspects of our community’s life,” wrote Jimmy Jeter.

Mobley owns and operates Mobley Plant Company, International Forest Company, Mobley Greenhouses, Mobley Plant World in LaBelle, Fla., and Mobley Furniture in Perry, Ga. All together his companies employ more than 1,000 people in Georgia, Florida and Louisiana. International Forest Company is the largest grower of container pine seedlings in the Southeastern United States, and Mobley Greenhouse Investments produces more tomato transplants than anyone else in the Southeast.

“Mobley Plant Company has long been recognized as the ‘gold standard’ for growing produce plants and shipping to customers all across the United States,” wrote former Sen. Saxby Chambliss. “As chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee I encounterd farmers from every corner of the country and had many produce farmers over the years tell me they would only buy their plants from Patrick and Mobley Plant Company.”

Other nominators spoke of Mobley’s kindness, dedication and community service.

Much of that service involved sports, where he was a founding member of the Packer Foundation that created a booster club for every sport in Colquitt County athletics. He was also an instrumental partner in the creation of the Packer Touchdown Club and was a past president of the club for six years.

“His innovative thinking and his ability to rally some of the top people in Colquitt County and beyond for financial support for our Touchdown Club was monumental,” Colquitt County High School head coach Rush Propst wrote. “His ability to lead a group of people for the good of a cause shows in everything he does.”

Propst said Mobley was crucial in getting turf for the field at Mack Tharpe Stadium.

Mobley works with the Boys and Girls Club of Moultrie/Colquitt County, serves as a deacon at Trinity Baptist Church and is a member of the Colquitt Regional Medical Center Foundation Board.

Other letters of support came from Chuck Bannister of South Georgia Banking Company; Chip Blalock of the Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition; Willard and Teresa Lasseter; Amanda Holt; Durwood Dominey; his children Samuel Preston Mobley, Erica Mobley, McClelland Mobley and Christy Mobley; the Rev. Matt Marston; Joey Tucker; and Christian Damerson of Seedway, LLC.