RALPH BOGAN KELLY

Ralph Bogan Kelly was born March 14, 1910 in Broadway, North Carolina. He graduated from Broadway High School and later from North Carolina State College.

In 1939, Ralph Kelly was employed with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture in the Poultry Section and was chief of the section when he retired in 1958.

Ralph Kelly was instrumental in the formation of many poultry organizations in North Carolina. He was an incorporating member of the North Carolina Poultry Council, the forerunner of the Poultry Federation, and served as Secretary-Treasurer of the North Carolina Poultry Processors Association.

During Mr. Kelly’s tenure with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture North Carolina moved from an unknown in the poultry world, to a position of commercially important leadership. This period saw the construction and growth of processing plants for eggs, broilers, and turkeys. Inspection of poultry processing was begun and grading of all poultry and egg products flourished. 

Ralph Kelly dedicated many years of service to the poultry industry in North Carolina and it is with pleasure that the officers and directors of the North Carolina Poultry Federation induct him into the North Carolina Poultry Hall of Fame.