“Billy Sickler, the Southeast Ginner of the Year, didn’t grow up in the gin business like so many of our previous recipients have,” said Ben Evans, outgoing president of the Southeastern Cotton Ginners Association. “He was actually born in Kentucky and moved to Alabama in high school.”
Following high school, Sickler enlisted in the Army and after a short time in the service, he came home to Alabama. Needing a job, Sickler went to the manager of a local gin and asked. That organization had just opened a second location, and he was hired as a “yard man.”
Sickler’s work ethic and problem solving impressed the gin manager and, the very next season, he became the assistant manager. His previous boss said he had “never met someone with the work ethic and drive to learn” that Sickler has.
After experiencing some highs and some lows (3,800 bales), closing one gin and then building an entirely new operation, Sickler became the general manager. The organization he runs is now one of the largest in the state, ginning more than 62,000 bales this year in short order.
Billy Sickler, general manager of the Associated Cotton Growers Coop in Athens, Alabama, and his wife, Erica, have had a lot going on over the years: raising two girls, running and growing the gin and becoming owners of a pet crematory. His latest role is being a grandpa. He is known as “Grumpy” as he’s called by his two young grandchildren. Congratulations to Billy Sickler — the Southeast Ginner of the Year.
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National Cotton Ginner Of The Year
Richard Lindsey, a veteran Alabama ginner who has provided outstanding service and leadership to the U.S. cotton industry, is the 2024 Horace Hayden National Cotton Ginner of the Year. He was recognized at the recent 2025 National Cotton Ginners Association’s (NCGA) annual meeting in Dallas, Texas.
The annual NCGA award is presented to a ginner in recognition of: 1) able, efficient and faithful service to the ginning industry and 2) continuing those principles exemplified and practiced by Horace Hayden, a former NCGA executive secretary.
Lindsey partnered with Brent Tidwell and his son Richard Lindsey, Jr., in their family farming operation known as Coosa River Land Co. He is active on several boards, including First Southern State Bank, Cherokee County Alfa Organization and Howell Cemetery Association. Lindsey is the current president of the National Cotton Ginners Association, having served as a vice president for the previous three years.
He has served on numerous National Cotton Ginners and National Cotton Council committees, is a National Cotton Council Director, a member of the Council’s executive committee and a member of the Cotton Council International Board of Directors. Additionally, Lindsey has served in numerous roles within the Southeastern Ginners Association, including president, and was selected as the Southeastern Ginner of the Year in 2010.
Lindsey, a native of Cherokee County, Alabama, has a rich history in cotton farming, beginning with his first harvest in 1957 as a 4-H project. Over the past 58 years, he has been a dedicated cotton producer and remains active in managing Cherokee Gin and Cotton Co., the largest gin in Alabama.
He also served in the Alabama House of Representatives for 35 years, holding key positions such as Chair of Appropriations and Agriculture Committees. His legislative achievements include bringing a satellite campus of Gadsden State Community College to Cherokee County, with the sports arena named in his honor. Richard retired from legislative service in 2018 but continues to contribute to the cotton industry.