For more than six decades, Copeland “Cope” Newbern has served Florida agriculture by pursuing one goal: the betterment of Florida agriculture through quality research and education. A 1933 graduate of the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture, Newbern started working as a vocational ag teacher and high school football coach. He established the first vocational agriculture department in the Hernando County school system in 1935, and was a multi-county agricultural agent from 1935 to 1938. He has been a citrus grower and packer, a cattleman and a melon producer and, at one time, he owned and operated Fancy Fresh Farms Inc., an egg operation with annual sales of more than $5 million. He has been a member of the board of governors of the Tampa Chamber of Commerce, president of the Florida Agriculture Council, and a trustee of the Florida Agricultural Museum.