Andy Bush

Community as a Way of Life
Director Spotlight: Andy Bush

As featured in the 2024 issue of Our Story

United Bank Director Andy Bush, owner of Bush Farms, calls Barnesville, Ga. home. That not only means running the third-generation farm his grandfather started in the late 1800s, it also means actively giving back to his neighbors and his community.   
 

Andy spent 25 years working in the textile industry for the William Carter Company and the Arrow Shirt Company. He commuted to and from Atlanta and Alabama during those years to make sure he returned to his hometown every day. When his parents started getting older, he took on the farm for them and has now been a full-time farmer for 20 years.
  
When Andy’s father ran the farm, he focused mainly on row cropping, cattle and pigs. Andy made some changes when he came back, building up the cattle portion of the business and starting a new focus on chickens. A neighbor taught him to use the litter from the chicken houses for fertilizer in his pastures. He now has a large, 200-acre operation with two houses that hold 30,000 chickens each, and he leases another 100 acres for hay fields.

The Bush family’s connection with United Bank started with Andy’s father, who knew Joe Edwards when United Bank was originally Lamar State Bank with a primary focus on agriculture loans. Since those early days, the Bush family has trusted their community bank to help them maintain and grow their farm.  

When asked what his relationship with the Bank has meant to him over the years Andy said, “It’s nice to have a bank in our community with a better understanding of a ‘mom and pop’ business. United Bank has a history steeped in that knowledge and has really assisted many of the startups in our area.”  

Andy first served on the Board of Directors for United Bank’s Barnesville division, then joined the overall Bank Board of Directors in May of 2014. As a director, he has the ability to serve as an ambassador for the Bank in the community, helping to communicate changes and improvements as necessary. However, he’s also involved with many of the local organizations the Bank supports, working side-by-side with United Bank leadership.
 
“United Bank is a driving force behind many community improvement projects, and I am glad to be a part of that,” he said.  
Andy succeeded Joe Edwards as board chair for the Lamar County Boys and Girls Club and continues to serve on the board to this day. He’s also on the board of the Lamar Community Foundation, which awards yearly grants to organizations focused on making improvements in his hometown. This year’s recipients included the Lamar Coalition of Women, the Lamar County Health Department, Lamar Fire and Rescue, the Lamar County Middle School Reach Program, and the Lamar County Recreation Department.  

“It’s incredibly rewarding to see what these organizations can accomplish with the grants they receive,” said Andy. “As a board member, I get a front row seat to the progress, and it makes me very proud to be a part of this effort.”

Andy’s community service doesn’t stop there. He is a Past President of the Barnesville Rotary Club and currently serves on the Gordon State College Board of Trustees, the Wellstar Spalding Regional Health Board, the Lamar County Tax Assessors Board, the Southern Rivers Energy Board, and the Soil and Water Conservation District Board. He also is an active member and Sunday school teacher at Green Mt. United Methodist Church in Barnesville.
 
Though running a farm and his involvement in many community organizations can make for long days and nights, Andy is comfortable with a service-oriented lifestyle. It’s one that he, his wife Dianne and daughter Kendall cherish in their hometown of Barnesville, Ga.

United Bank is proud to call Andy a director, customer and friend. We're grateful for all he gives to the Lamar County community.