Good weather, good yields and good quality were the themes of this year’s Vidalia onion season. Each year is a race to beat the heat and win favor with Mother Nature. Thanks to near perfect conditions and our hardworking staff we completed harvest in Mid-May and finished in record time. It’s summer so keep enjoying those Sweet Vidalia Onions in all of your summer meals.
Cheldon joined G&R Farms in April 2025 as Elisam Grader Control Operator and returned in June 2026 as Director of Quality Control & Safety after completing his Electronics Technology degree at Southeastern Technical College. Born and raised in Vidalia, Cheldon grew up on a family farm producing Vidalia onions and began working in the packing shed at a young age. Today, he oversees quality, safety, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement initiatives. Outside of work, Cheldon enjoys traveling, golfing, cheering on the Georgia Bulldogs, spending time with his large, close-knit family, and being a proud dog owner to Nova and Molly.
Kristy rejoined G&R Farms in April 2025 as an Administrative Assistant, bringing experience in agriculture, banking, and education. Born and raised in Long County, she grew up on a family farm raising livestock, producing hay, and formerly growing tobacco. Kristy worked in banking before earning her Early Childhood Education degree from Brewton-Parker Christian University and becoming an educator. She taught mathematics, science, social studies, and Bible, and later co-taught Special Education. Outside of work, Kristy enjoys spending time with family and pets, drinking coffee, baking when time allows, and attending and serving at Compassion Christian Church.
MARIO ARIASMario joined G&R in early 2018 to oversee their Peruvian Sweet Onion program. He is a business administrator with more than 15 years in the onions business. He was born in Perú and is based in Lima.
KAY HAGANKay joined G&R in 2003 as a Human Resources and Accounting Administrator. She brought 16 years of professional experience, and 14 of those were in produce and on farms. Going back generations, Kay’s family ran farms growing tobacco, produce, and raising livestock. Kay has been married to Brian since 1994 and they have three grown children together: Kaylyn, Brenley, and Parks. With the kids grown, Kay started a small business painting stenciled wooden signs and various wooden items as way to fuel her creativity. She is also a volunteer pianist at Harmony Methodist Church, where she is an active member.
TIFFANY DRIGGERSTiffany came to G&R in 2014 with an extensive background in agriculture. She is an Accounts Receivable administrator specializing in the Peru region. Prior to joining the team, Tiffany had the pulse on everything at Agri Supply as their Office Manager for 16 years. Adding to her agricultural knowledge and experience, Tiffany runs an active farm with cows and goats. Away from the office, Tiffany enjoys spending time with her family camping, traveling, and at the Lake. She has been married to her husband, Jon, for 20 years and has two girls; Chandler who attends college at GSU and Harleigh who is a Junior in high school.
DEBRA DASHERDebra joined G&R farms in 2016 filling several vital rolls as our Office Manager, Food Safety Coordinator, and H2A & H2B Specialist. Debra worked at the Department of Defense in Ft. Stewart, GA, directly out of high school. She retired from the DoD as a GS13 with over 37 years as a Resource Management Specialist, Budget Officer, and Senior Action Officer. Debra grew up in central Florida where her family grew oranges and bell peppers. Her family moved to Georgia when she was in middle school, where she helped her uncles on the farm with tobacco and hay for their cattle. Outside of the office, Debra enjoys spending time on the water, at her second home in Shellman Bluff, GA. She spends most of her time with her son Brett, his wife Wendy and her grandson Waylon, a Sophomore at the University of Georgia majoring in AG Engineering.
Caitlin joined the G&R sales team in early 2022, as their Assistant Sales Associate. She was born and raised in Vidalia Georgia and continues to be native to the area. After graduating from Southeastern Tech, Caitlin worked at Kemp’s Pharmacy for 5 years as a Pharmacy Technician. She has brought exceptional problem-solving skills and attention to detail to the team. Outside of work, Caitlin is a wife and mother to her amazing daughter Anna-Beth, 6 years, and her son Coleman, 9 months.
DJ BurkeDJ Burke e joined G & R Farms in August 2025 as Operations Manager and has spent the past 7 years working in the onion industry as a facility manager. He has 30+ years of experience in the warehouse and logistics (import) industry, employed by Walmart Distribution Center and Hasbro Toys as their Logistics Manager. Born and raised in Tattnall County, DJ has deep ties to the community earned through integrity, strong relationships with the community’s people, and forged by his late father Donald Burke. DJ married his wife, Casey, in 2012, and they have five children and two grandchildren. DJ enjoys spending time with his family, going to the north GA mountains, and camping.
JON ELLISIn 2022, Jon Ellis was promoted to Shipping Manager and Inventory Control Supervisor. Jon has 37 years of Mechanical, Logistics, Quality Control and Manufacturing experience with the last 10 years being in the Aerospace Industry. Jon retired from active duty in the United States Army in 2006 with 22 years of service. He and his wife Simone have two daughters, Emily and Jamie. They have lived in Glennville since 1998.
FABIAN MURILLOIn 2024, Fabian Murillo was promoted to Shed Manager, overseeing all day-to-day operations of shed production and staff supervision of over 60 employees. Fabian has been full-time with G&R Farms since 2015 and worked seasonally for 15 years. Fabian grew up in Weslaco, Texas but began working with his grandfather during the summer at the age of 16 as a seasonal G&R employee. Since his full-time hire in 2015, Fabian has been promoted 4 times, each time taking on more responsibilities and a supervisory role. Fabian’s family has been entrenched in the G&R Family for more than 34 years. His Grandfather David Murillo, Sr. started with G&R more than 34 years ago and currently is our Shed Manager. We look forward to Fabian continuing that long tradition at G&R Farms. Fabian has been married to his lovely wife Jennifer for three years. They have 3 children Jhesly, Alice, and the most recent addition, Alexander.
RAWLS NEVILLENeville is an industry veteran who started his career as a farm hand and has held jobs as an Operations Manager at both Four Corners Farms and Van Solkema Produce. In 2022 Neville expanded his industry interests with the new title of Owner when he purchased Van Solkema’s Georgia facility and partnered in an onion and watermelon growing operation with Hilliard Farms.
With an eye to the future, this Georgia Southern University grad wasted no time getting involved in the Vidalia Onion business as a grower-packer, and other than an a short ag sales tenure at AimTrac, Vidalia onions has always been the career path for him.
Cliff manages seed trials to improve flavor, conducts soil analysis, oversees onion planting and assists our sustainability efforts especially with reducing pesticides and fertilizers. In his previous position, Cliff served as the coordinator of the Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center. Prior to that he served over a decade with the University of Georgia’s Cooperative Extension Service and this included being an area extension agent for the entire Vidalia onion region. He helped establish the University of Georgia’s Crop Quality Laboratory which evaluates sweet onion pungency and provides extensive research on sweet onion flavors through seed variety and soil analysis. Riner has a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in Agriculture and Environmental Education.
JON DORMINEYJon is responsible for long-range planning, cost analysis, revamping policies and procedures and overseeing inventory, shipping and production staff. With his exceptional organizational and managerial skills, he’s an asset to our team. He has spent his career working in education. In his previous position, he served as Vice President of the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) in which he was responsible for all Athletic components of the GISA, including state playoffs, eligibility, rule enforcement and board training. Prior to that he served as Head of School at both Pinewood Christian Academy and Robert Toombs Christian Academy and was responsible for all aspects of the K3-12 college preparatory school and managed more than 60 professional employees. Jon received his BS in Sports Management from Georgia Southern University in 1996 and later obtained his Masters degree in Business Administration from Georgia Southwestern State University in 1998, while also serving as a graduate Assistant basketball coach.
Growing up on a family farm instills roots that run deep for the farming community which Steven attributes to leading him to his career with G&R Farms. He grew up on a small family farm just outside of Collins, Georgia. His family grew a variety of crops including Vidalia sweet onions for several years in the late 80’s and 90’s. Steven joined G&R Farms in 2016 and he touts this opportunity as allowing him the challenge of carrying on the “farming torch” to other young individuals who need to understand the importance of farming and how vital it is to the overall well-being of every-day life. In his previous positions, Steven worked as a buyer for Rotary Corporation in Glennville, Ga and a poultry operation that he purchased in 2002. He graduated from South Georgia College in Douglas, Ga and completed his college career at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga with a BBA in Business Management. Steven has been married for 23 years to his wife Lacy, and they have one 19 year old daughter. They are members of Collins First Baptist Church in Collins, Ga. Steven enjoys playing golf and spending time with family and friends.
Growing up in the family business Blake saw firsthand how much work goes into the daily business operations that create success, and those experiences shaped his adolescent years, establishing his work ethic and framing his career path. Now, years later, Blake is building on that generational success by adding his own goals to the company’s quality & service standards. After graduating from the University of Georgia in 2007, he officially joined G&R Farms and held an active management role in Dasher Industries, Inc, a subsidiary of G&R Farms. Since 2017, his focus has continued to shift as he began to assume operational roles at G&R Farms. Blake is now the third generation to move the G&R family legacy forward and is married to his wife, Sara. They have two children, Riley and Shelby, and Blake enjoys sharing their hobbies and getting them out on the farm.
