08/13/2024
The End of An Era...
Godwin Produce Company was created in 1936 by my Grandfather, Enoch E. Godwin, Sr. Though he, and others throughout North Carolina, had been growing sweetpotatoes for years, in 1936, Granddaddy started something new for NC...he started packing (by hand), shipping, and selling sweetpotatoes throughout the eastern United States and Canada! To our knowledge, Granddaddy was the first interstate shipper of sweetpotatoes by a North Carolina producer, the first shipper to use an automated sweetpotato packing line (simple as it was in the early 1940's), and the first president of what is now known as the North Carolina SweetPotato Commission. Over the years, his efforts and the efforts of other growers in North Carolina, created an industry that sits proudly as the top producing state for sweetpotatoes in the United States.
Upon his death in 1965, four of his sons (Enoch, Jr., Bernard, George, and Anthony (my father)) and one of his son-in-laws, Bob Tyler, took over the reigns of the growing farming and packing business and thrived. Yes, there were hard times...yes, there were some long hours...BUT, they excelled at what they individually and also how they worked together to make the business a success by all accounts.
Twenty years later, the three older partners/owners (Enoch, Jr., Bernard, and Bob) decided to retire. My Daddy and Uncle George again picked up the reigns and trudged on. With a combined total of nine children, they did what that needed to do to provide for their families. And provide, they did! Uncle George and Daddy had been almost unseparatable as kids, and they often seemed to think with "the same brain" as they continued the success of Godwin Produce Company.
After I graduated from North Carolina State University, I became a fire safety inspector and ultimately the Senior Inspector/Fire Marshal for NCSU's Fire Protection Division. Since returning to the farm was always my heart's intent, in 1995, I left my "state job" as Daddy called it, to return to farm full-time with Daddy and Uncle George.
At the end of 1996, Uncle George announced his intent to retire for medical reasons, and Daddy and I purchased his interest in the business.
During this time, Daddy taught me so much, and I had the pleasure of learning the business from the inside-out from him and so many of our friends in the industry. Yes, our company and others were fierce competitors, but we also considered ourselves friends and family. The sweetpotato industry is tough, especially for a grower/packer/shipper, so having an extended family to work with is so very necessary and important.
I also was honored to be a member of the Board of Directors for the North Carolina SweetPotato Commission as well as serving with others in many different agri-business and commodity organizations. Serving as President of the Board of the Commission was one of my greatest honors -- especially since Granddaddy was a founding member and the first president of the organization. (Granddaddy, you would be so proud of how that organization has grown and grown and grown!!)
Daddy and I continued as partners even as he fought Alzheimer's for many, many years prior to his death in 2022. I am sure that many others know this and feel this deeply as well, but Alzheimer's is a terrible, ugly, painful disease that is a struggle for the patient as well as the caregivers. Daddy struggled, and in full honesty, I know that I did too.
After surviving Hurricane Matthew (where I lost 85% of my total sweetpotato crop in 2016), my dear wife, Barbara and I decided that we could not continue to gamble with everything that we owned, and we chose to essentially cease our farming operations...we did not stop farming completely, but we did stop farming on the same scale that we had done prior to this point. So since 2017, I have continued to run Godwin Produce Company, but was largely more of a storage facility for sweetpotatoes grown by others.
After Daddy's death, and with considerable thought and prayer, Barbara and I decided to prepare to sell our infrastructure, close the company, and end this era of Godwin Produce Company. While this has been one of the hardest decisions of my life, I know that it is best for me and my family, so I am at peace.
In March of 2024 and with the help of Lucia Turlington of Turlington Real Estate in Dunn, we successfully closed on the sale of our facilities to Terry Richard of Richards Welding and Manufacturing. I am so thankful for both Lucia and Terry, and I feel absolutely blessed to have been associated with both!! And even though she has not asked for this, I cannot recommend Lucia Turlington enough for her professional work ethic and dedication to doing exactly what she said she would do!! And I wish Terry much success with his rapidly growing company!
So, as we complete the final removal of our personal property this month, I am sad, yet happy -- but mostly grateful and blessed. And so, so appreciative of my Granddaddy, my Uncles, and my parents for allowing me my turn at being a part of Godwin Produce Company's legacy.
And finally, I am also grateful to J.M. Dickens and his partners for allowing me to begin my new career with Triangle Risk Advisors, Inc. -- last week, I started my new position with them in Commercial/Business Development concentrating in southeastern North Carolina. So to my friends in the ag industry, you will definitely see even more of me in the near future as I try to serve you and your needs...LET'S TALK SOON!!!
Thank you to my wife and family for their patience and support. And to my many, many family and friends, thanks to one and all. Each of you mean so much to me!!
David L. Godwin
