On April 1, 1994, Governor George Allen announced the appointment of J. Carlton Courter, III, as Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Courter, who served for the past seven years as president of the Virginia Agribusiness Council, grew up on his parents' dairy farm in Amelia County, Virginia. He is a 1979 graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a degree in dairy science. Courter is married to the former Scarlett Blalock of Mecklenburg County. He is a member and elder of the Amelia Presbyterian Church. He was awarded the Virginia Society of Association Executives Award of Excellence in May, 1994, for his leadership in the association field and the Virginia Agribusiness Council's Distinguished Friend of Agriculture Award for his service to that organization. On many weekends, Courter can be found at his family's farm where he enjoys weekend farming, hunting, and gardening.