William T. Robinson, chairman of the Board of Directors of AgSouth Farm Credit, announced that John Patrick "Pat" Calhoun will succeed William P. Spigener, Jr., as president and chief executive officer of the association upon Spigener's retirement.
        Spigener, who has been president and CEO of AgSouth for 29 years, will work closely with Calhoun , a resident of Statesboro, over the next few months to ensure a smooth transition. AgSouth Farm Credit serves more than 9,000 members in 34 South Carolina and 59 Georgia counties. The company has approximately 250 employees.
        Calhoun grew up on a family farm in South Carolina. A former United States Army officer, Calhoun is a graduate of The Citadel, the Advanced Leadership Academy at Darla Moore School of Business, the South Carolina Bankers School, the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics Academy and Southeastern Agricultural Lenders School.
        Calhoun brings more than 25 years of experience with Farm Credit to his new position.
        He began his career as a loan officer with Southeast Georgia Farm Credit in 1988. Early in his career he worked for Palmetto Farm Credit in Camden, S.C., as a branch manager, and with Pee Dee Farm Credit in Florence, S.C., as a Senior Credit Analyst. When he returned to Southeast Georgia Farm Credit in 1999 (which, through mergers, had become what is currently known as AgSouth Farm Credit), he held the positions of Team Leader, Regional Lending Manager and, most recently, Executive Vice President with responsibilities as the Director of Risk Management and Corporate Loan Manager. Calhoun, is married to Carol Pitts Calhoun and has seven children.
        "Mr. Spigener has done an excellent job as CEO during his time," Robinson said. "When he became CEO of the association (then Southeast Georgia Farm Credit), loan volume was around $100 million. Through several mergers and strong leadership, that volume is now more than $2 billion. Having gone through a rigorous search process for the new CEO, the board is confident that Mr. Calhoun is the right person to continue the positive growth of one of the strongest agricultural lending cooperatives in the southeast and to ensure that AgSouth will continue to be able to serve agriculture and our rural communities well into the future."
        "I look forward to building on the strong foundation that is AgSouth Farm Credit," Calhoun said. "Agriculture and rural communities are important backbones of America. AgSouth will continue to play a major role in supporting these critical areas affecting the economies of each state."