A Message from our President, Gale Betterly
– reprinted from the 2015 Summer print newsletter*
The Power of 1+
SCFB President Gale Betterly
What really makes things happen in our communities, our country, our world? Is it some special power from above? Is it a big plan or a huge social surge?
I don’t think so. If we look at what is happening around us, and work our way back to the beginning of the idea, the movement, the monument or the law, we find one person with an idea or a dream. When another person buys into the idea or dream, the original dreamer can build faster, plan and do more.
That’s how volunteer organizations get things done – a good idea and a buy-in from 1+.
What does this mean for you and me? That, when we work together, we can move mountains. A good example of my 1+ principal is Farm Bureau’s efforts to move or change legislation. Ohio Farm Bureau has staff members who work with our state and federal legislators daily. Their ideas and suggestions have some power because they are backed by an organization with over 200,000 members. But that isn’t enough to sway many votes. It may force a slight wording change in some legislation, but one person can’t change the vote alone.
That’s where 1+ comes into play.
When the call goes out for members to contact our respective legislators and let them know how we feel about the proposed legislation, our legislators hear from their most important constituents – a voter who cares! That letter, email or telephone call is more important than just one voice. Since very few people bother to contact their legislators, every contact they do receive represents some number of people who think the same way.
In other words, that +1 effort might look to a lawmaker like 100 people saying “this is the right thing to do.”
The +1 works with projects we have here in Summit County. Some of those projects are based on needs our members have identified as important. We have a museum at our fairgrounds – someone saw a need to preserve tools and dreams of the past and others joined in to make it happen. The same thing can be said about the fairgrounds – a small group of people recognized the need for a safe, secure place for youth to show what they have learned and for adults to show what they have done.
We have a mobile agriculture learning laboratory – better known as the Ag Mobile – that has reached thousands of students with at least one more lesson about food and agriculture than they would have had in their normal school day. We have educational programs to help those who are exploring new ideas about agriculture or who are looking for other ways to work with their soil, plants or animals. We have a special dinner that raises money for a community need while introducing the diners to agricultural information presented by farmers.
It would take pages to cover everything we have because, somewhere along the way, someone became the +1 and the +2 and so on. A dreamer can feel very much alone, but when a +1 joins, a support system begins to develop. We have a strong base for nurturing dreams and ideas.
Those dreams and ideas all need a +1 to get off the ground.
I would like to invite you to become a +1 for Summit County’s voice of agriculture. Being a +1 doesn’t often pay very well, but there are good friendship rewards to gain and the satisfaction in knowing that with a bit of your time, you have made a difference.
Gale Betterly, President
Summit County Farm Bureau
*The Summit County Farm Bureau mails out a print newletter to each of its more than 1,000 members each year. To become a member, apply online here.