Preserving Your Legacy: Navigating Estate Planning for a Smooth Transition & Conflict-Free Future

Featuring Tony Hutchins & Will Thompson

A Partnership Series brought to you by the Farm Credit Associations of Georgia and Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance

Everyone needs estate planning, but most people don’t know when they should start. It’s never too early to plan for your future! Tune in to hear from guest panelists Tony Hutchins and Will Thompson as they explain the resources available to you and your family.

Thursday, August 3rd, 2023

10:00 a.m.

REGISTER HERE

REGISTER for this FREE informational webinar taking place on Thursday, August 3rd at 10 a.m. Each registrant will receive a Zoom link via email for the webinar ahead of time. Registration is required to receive the link and view the webinar. 

This resource is made possible by Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance and the Farm Credit Associations of Georgia. It is open to members of Georgia Farm Bureau and Farm Credit.

Meet the Speakers

Will Thompson 

Will Thompson focuses his legal practice on estate and asset protection planning. In addition, he assists clients with the design and implementation of business succession plans, as well as financial planning goals and objectives. Will works with clients in the formation and structure of corporate entities and the purchase and sale of those entities. Will is also experienced in the formation of non-profit entities. Born and raised in Blakely, Georgia, Will graduated from the University of Georgia magna cum laude with a degree in Public Relations, and he then received his Juris Doctor at the Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law in Macon. He continued his education at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he earned his LL.M. in Taxation. Will and his wife, Amelia, have 3 children and attend Watkinsville First Baptist Church.

    
Tony Hutchins 

Tony Hutchins started his Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company career in 1985. Since that time, he has had several roles in the company including Internal Auditor, Manager of New Business, Manager of Underwriting/ New Business Operations and Manager of Southern Capital Brokerage. In 2015, he moved to Georgia where he currently serves as the Estate Planner for the entire state of Georgia. Tony holds the following professional designations: CLU, ChFC, RICP, FALU, and the FLMI, and has been a consistent winner of state and company-wide sales contests.   In his role as an Estate Planner, Tony has conducted seminar presentations on a wide array of topics, including but not limited to: Estate Planning, Business Insurance Planning, Retirement Planning and Long Term Care planning while also assisting the company in the promotion of new products and sales campaigns. He has conducted sales training for the agency force at district and agency meetings, along with individual client sales interviews with Farm Bureau agents and their clients. Tony is passionate about making a positive impact and thrives on helping others achieve their own goals. As a native of Jackson, Mississippi, Tony graduated from Jim Hill High School and later obtained his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a degree in Accounting. Tony currently lives in Columbus, Georgia where he enjoys playing golf and traveling. He has two sons, Bryant and Brandon.
 

AgGeorgia Farm Credit is pleased to announce the hiring of Jamie Hambrick and Caroline Palmer as Member Service Representatives in the Royston Office. 

A native of Franklin County, Mrs. Hambrick graduated from Athens Technical College with an associate degree in Paralegal Studies.  She grew up on her parents’ poultry breeder farm, Brawner Farms.  Jamie will be a great addition to the team as she has twenty-one years of banking experience.  She lives in Carnesville with her husband and their two children. 

Mrs. Palmer grew up in Madison County and went to college at Athens Technical College and Southern Crescent Technical College.  She has over three years’ experience in medical administrative work and has prior managerial experience.  Caroline lives in Royston with her husband and son on their family farm consisting of cattle and chicken houses. 

Mrs. Hambrick and Mrs. Palmer look forward to using their agricultural knowledge and work experience to service the needs of residents of Banks, Clarke, Elbert, Franklin, Hart, Madison and Stephens Counties.

AgGeorgia Farm Credit is pleased to announce the hiring of Buck Blalock as a Commercial Loan Officer and Robyn Miller as a Member Service Representative (MSR) in the Perry Office.  

A native of Colquitt County, Buck received an associate degree from ABAC and a bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness from the University of Georgia.  With experience in sales and affiliations with FFA, Young Farmers, the Sunbelt Ag Expo and the Alpha Gamma Rho ag fraternity at UGA, his background and involvement with agricultural organizations will be beneficial in his new role.  In his spare time, Buck enjoys UGA sports, fishing, hunting, traveling and golf.

Robyn attended Ashford University and has over twelve years of business and administrative experience. She has two children and in her spare time enjoys running road races, riding horses, dog training, and competing in all dog sports. 

Mr. Blalock and Ms. Miller look forward to applying their business experience to serve the ag and land loan needs of the residents of Houston and surrounding counties.

AgGeorgia Farm Credit is pleased to announce the hiring of Matthew Hart as Consumer Ag Loan Officer in the Royston Office. A native of Jackson County, Mr. Hart graduated from the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences with a degree in Agriscience and Environmental Systems with a Minor in Turfgrass Management.  He grew up around cattle, showed goats in FFA during high school, and managed a feed store during college.  Before joining the team at AgGeorgia, Matthew worked as a branch manager for John Deere, a soil conservationist at USDA NRCS, and a territory sales representative.  

An avid outdoorsman, Mr. Hart enjoys hunting, hiking and gardening. He is a competitive shooter and volunteers with Ducks Unlimited. Matthew “loves to support Georgia agriculture wherever and however he can.”  He lives with his wife, and their chickens, in Jackson County.  

Mr. Hart looks forward to using his agricultural knowledge and experience to service the needs of residents of Banks, Clarke, Elbert, Franklin, Hart, Madison and Stephens Counties.

AgGeorgia Farm Credit is pleased to announce the addition of Sherri Hinson as Mortgage Loan Originator.  Ms. Hinson is a graduate of Georgia Southern University where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in finance, emphasis in real estate.  Having worked in the financial industry for 25 years, her experience in banking and mortgages has afforded her the experience to provide knowledge for home purchases, construction and refinancing through the various programs that AgGeorgia offers.  

Sherri is a resident of Dodge County and has 2 children, Megan (21) and Chase (18).  She enjoys reading, hunting, fishing, managing the family farm and is active in showmanship of her horse Amigo which features the show name “Riding with Ronnie” in memory of her dad.

For residential mortgage information, contact Sherri at shinson@aggeorgia.com or toll free at 833-61-HOUSE.  

NMLS #412485

AgGeorgia Farm Credit is pleased to announce a distribution of $8,218,788 to borrowers of the cooperative. Members who held loans with AgGeorgia in 2015 will receive a portion of this payout, with checks expected to be delivered by the last week of June. AgGeorgia’s board already declared a cash dividend of over $15 million in April to members who had loans in 2022. The upcoming distribution brings the total paid to borrowers in 2023 to $23,513,748. 

Jack Bentley, Chairman of AgGeorgia’s Board of Directors, said the disbursements mean a great deal to members of the co-op. “So many over the years have told me that their dividend check from AgGeorgia came at just the right time for their family or farm operation,” said Mr. Bentley. “Members have told me that these checks have helped them do everything from putting their children through college to making ends meet in a tough year.” 

The June payout consists of surplus revolvement from AgGeorgia’s 2015 Patronage Refunds.  Surplus portions were taxable when declared at that time, so no additional income taxes are due on the disbursement.  Members with outstanding surplus earned from 2016-2020 will continue to receive surplus checks over the next several years, subject to annual board approval, while AgGeorgia completes its transition to the all-cash patronage plan. Starting with the 2021 refund, patronage refunds are now paid in all-cash rather than a cash/retained surplus split. 

2023 marks the 35th consecutive year the cooperative has returned profits to its borrowers, with over $450 million in cash being paid out since 1988.

8/1 UPDATE: AgGeorgia has completed the upgrade to our loan systems. However, due to the transition we are still experiencing some intermittent delays in posting payments and isolated issues with payment application. We are actively working to resolve and apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact your local branch for any questions regarding your account. 

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AgGeorgia Farm Credit is upgrading our loan systems to better serve you with faster service and added convenience. To ensure a smooth transition, some services such as online and mobile access to your account may be limited beginning Friday, July 14. We will restore full account access Tuesday, July 18, as this significant systems upgrade is finalized. Here is what you need to know:

Draws/Transfers. No draws from lines of credit will be able to be processed Friday, July 14 through Monday, July 17. 

Payments. Any manual or automated payments made during this time will be processed on or after Monday, July 17.

Payment due dates. If you have a payment due during this period, you will be able to make that payment on Tuesday, July 18, without any late payment penalties.

New loan numbers. Your new loan number(s) will appear on the first billing statement you receive after Thursday, July 13. However, other details of your account will remain the same. If you use QuickPay or Bill Pay from your commercial bank to generate payments on your AgGeorgia accounts, please update your commercial bank with your new loan number to avoid any bill pay service disruptions. For members utilizing AgGeorgia's AutoDraft service to automatically draft your payments from your preferred bank account, your payments will continue to be drafted and you do not need to take any action.

Redesigned billing statements. Following the upgrade, you will begin receiving redesigned, user-friendly billing statements to help you manage your account.

Digital Banking app. If you haven’t already, don’t forget to update our Digital Banking app on the App Store or Google Play and re-register your account for mobile access. Rest assured that if you have already re-registered, this change to your loan number will not affect your ability to log in to your account.

We look forward to bringing you more streamlined service that includes extended daily deadlines for cash transfer and payments, as well as enhanced security measures to protect your personal information.

AgGeorgia Farm Credit is pleased to announce the addition of Alex Hayes as Consumer Ag Loan Officer in the Cartersville Office. Originally from Florence, Alabama, Mr. Hayes graduated from Georgia Southern University with a degree in Finance. Alex worked as a relationship banker at a commercial bank before joining the team at AgGeorgia.  He lives in the Woodstock area, where he has lived most of his life, and is a big fan of the Atlanta Braves. 

Mr. Hayes looks forward to using his finance knowledge and experience to service the needs of residents of Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Gordon, Paulding, Pickens, and Polk Counties.

AgGeorgia Farm Credit is pleased to announce that dividends totaling $15,294,960 have been declared by its board of directors, marking 35 consecutive years that profits have been returned to member-borrowers. The cooperative’s Patronage Refund Program has now paid out over $442 million in cash over that span. 

“I am proud of the consistency that this co-op has shown by managing to distribute Patronage Refunds every year since 1988,” said Jack Bentley, Chairman of the AgGeorgia Farm Credit Board of Directors. “AgGeorgia’s track record of issuing dividends has been recognized by our members, who value the reduction in their cost of borrowing.” 

Another year of record financial performance made the distribution possible, according to AgGeorgia CEO Rob Crain. “We have an incredible membership and staff, which allowed us to set new highs for total assets, loans, stockholder equity, and asset quality,” noted Mr. Crain. “The result of that strong performance is our ability to push these profits out to member-borrowers, allowing them to grow their farm operations, pay down debt, or invest as they choose.” 

The refund, from 2022 earnings, lowers the average member’s stated rate by 1.30%. All of the distribution is in cash, as opposed to 2021 and years prior, when refunds were divided between cash and surplus to be paid years later. Members who have previously signed up for ACH/direct deposit can expect their portion to be deposited the first week of April. Those who have not can expect a check to be mailed that same week.