--- title: HR 1196. Koehler, Don; outstanding public service as an Executive Director of the Georgia Peanut Commission; commend collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr1196 cite_as: HR 1196, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1196 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1196.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1196/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72759 date: 2026-02-02 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1195.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1197.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 131 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1196.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 1196 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-02-02 last_action: House Read and Adopted sponsors: - Jaclyn Ford - Angie O'Steen - Robert Dickey - Steven Meeks - David Huddleston text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1196/2025 upstream_id: 2104343 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Georgia Peanut Commission - agriculture - legislative commendation - peanut farming --- # HR 1196. Koehler, Don; outstanding public service as an Executive Director of the Georgia Peanut Commission; commend ## Text House Resolution 1196 By: Representatives Ford of the 170th, O’Steen of the 169th, Dickey of the 134th, Meeks of the 178th, and Huddleston of the 72nd A RESOLUTION Recognizing and commending Don Koehler on his outstanding public service as a Executive Director of the Georgia Peanut Commission; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, Don Koehler has long been recognized by the citizens of this state for the vital role that he has played in leadership and his deep personal commitment to the welfare of the citizens of Georgia; and WHEREAS, he has diligently and conscientiously devoted innumerable hours of his time, talents, and energy toward the betterment of his community and state as evidenced dramatically by his superlative service with the Georgia Peanut Commission; and WHEREAS, the Georgia Peanut Commission conducts programs in research, education, promotion, and advocacy for Georgia's peanut farmers–who produce about half of all peanut crop in the United States; and WHEREAS, Don has served as Executive Director of the Georgia Peanut Commission since 1986, making him the longest serving Executive Director since the Peanut Commission's establishment in 1961; and WHEREAS, he also serves as a member of the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Tobacco, Cotton, and Peanuts which advises the USDA and the U.S. Trade Representative on trade policy issues; the management team of the Southern Peanut Growers; the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation; and on the Board of the Southeastern Peanut Farmer magazine; and WHEREAS, Don's significant organizational and leadership talents, remarkable patience and diplomacy, keen sense of vision, and sensitivity to the needs of the citizens of this state have earned him the respect and admiration of his colleagues and associates; and WHEREAS, during his tenure at the Georgia Peanut Commission, Don oversaw the construction of a new, state of the art office and education center; secured funding for farmers impacted by the Hurricane Michael disaster; and successfully lead efforts to pass a new five-year farm bill that will provide a safety net for farmers and economic benefits to the rural South Georgia economy; and WHEREAS, he is a person of magnanimous strengths with an unimpeachable reputation for integrity, intelligence, fairness, and kindness; and WHEREAS, Don has served with honor and distinction with the Georgia Peanut Commission, and his vision and unyielding commitment will be sorely missed upon the occasion of his retirement; and WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that the outstanding accomplishments of this remarkable and distinguished Georgian be appropriately recognized. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body recognize and commend Don Koehler for his efficient, effective, unselfish, and dedicated public service to the State of Georgia; congratulate him upon the grand occasion of his retirement; and extend the most sincere best wishes for continued health and happiness. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to Don Koehler. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution honors Don Koehler for nearly four decades of leadership as Executive Director of the Georgia Peanut Commission, marking his retirement. ### Plain-language summary This is a commendation resolution passed by the Georgia House of Representatives. It does not change any law; instead it formally recognizes Don Koehler for his long career leading the Georgia Peanut Commission, an organization that supports the state's peanut farmers through research, education, promotion, and advocacy. The resolution recounts Koehler's record since becoming Executive Director in 1986, including overseeing construction of a new office and education center, securing disaster relief funding after Hurricane Michael, and helping pass a five-year federal farm bill. The House resolves to commend him for his service, congratulate him on his retirement, and directs the Clerk of the House to provide him a copy of the resolution. ### What it does - Formally commends Don Koehler for his service as Executive Director of the Georgia Peanut Commission since 1986. - Congratulates Koehler on his retirement and extends the House's best wishes for his health and happiness. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to prepare and distribute a copy of the resolution to Koehler. - Creates no new law, funding, or regulatory requirement; it is a ceremonial recognition only. ### Who it affects The resolution directly names and honors Don Koehler. It also references the Georgia Peanut Commission and Georgia's peanut farmers, whose industry Koehler's work supported, though the resolution itself imposes no obligations on them. ### Why it matters The resolution has no legal or regulatory effect on Georgians; it serves only to publicly acknowledge Koehler's decades of work supporting Georgia's peanut farming industry and to mark his retirement with an official statement from the House. ### Key provisions - Recounts Koehler's tenure since 1986 as the longest-serving Executive Director since the Commission's 1961 founding. - Notes his roles advising USDA and U.S. Trade Representative trade policy and with several peanut industry organizations. - Resolves that the House commends Koehler and congratulates him on his retirement. - Directs the Clerk of the House to make a copy available for distribution to Koehler. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-02-02) - Last action: House Read and Adopted (2026-02-02) - Sponsors: Jaclyn Ford, Angie O'Steen, Robert Dickey, Steven Meeks, David Huddleston - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72759 > The history, votes, and amendments (131 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1196.md?full=1