President: Gale Betterly
The Exciting Season!
Often the only thing I’m worrying about this time of year is how to stay upright on the ice and out of the snow banks. It has been an unusual winter, but this year I’ve had more time to visualize our 2016 Farm Bureau year! It is going to be an exciting one.
.
In January I had the opportunity to be at the American Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. There were great speakers, an exciting trade show and lots of challenging ideas.
Among the idea setters were eight Ohio counties reporting on their innovative and interesting programs. I’d like give a special Way to Go to Medina County for the creative way they introduced county farm families to the crowds visiting their county fair. Using pictures, large posters and great information, fair goers could learn more about some Medina County farm families. In turn, members of those families helped to staff the display and answer questions.
When you come to this year’s Farmers Share/Farmers Care Breakfast, plan to spend some time viewing some of the information we will be sharing about our Summit County Farm Families.
Further down the line, we will have a booth at the Akron Home and Garden Show. Our booth at the Akron Marathon Health and Fitness Expo was a success and your Board of Directors have approved this new venture. We are looking forward to a way to meet more people who want to know more about agriculture and about Summit County Farm Bureau.
Some changes have been made in our Farm Bureau memberships. For a complete description of the changes, written by Board Member Chris Esker, please go to our web page: Changes to the SCFB Membership Model. The short story is that we have new options for involving different people as members.
Speaking about membership – we need your help. Our Membership Co-Chairs – Board Members Pete Schanz and Tim Luther – are working with a group of people to help get the word out about Summit County Farm Bureau and how we support Ohio agriculture, but we need your help too. We don’t know everyone in the county who produces agricultural products or whose livelihood is directly impacted by agriculture. We don’t know who is between 18 and 25 who might be eligible for a reduced membership. If you know someone who might be interested in a membership, let the County Farm Bureau office or any of our Board Members know.
You can also direct them to the Ohio Farm Bureau website – OFBF.org – where they can complete a membership application. There are some benefits to asking the office for some of our membership applications. If you “solicit” one or more new memberships, which just means putting your name on the membership application, there are recognitions and rewards for your efforts.
So many good things happening. Scholarships, trips, educational events, supporting our community and sharing Ohio’s agriculture story. We are happy to invite you to be a part of the good things that are being planned over this new Farm Bureau year. I look forward to seeing you many times in 2016.
Gale Betterly, President
Summit County Farm Bureau