WV Farm Bureau Magazine May 2013 | Page 24

Lines to the Ladies JoEllen Blair, WVFB Women’s Leadership Committee Chair Thanks to everyone who helped us make Food CheckOut Week a tremendous success. Each year it seems like it just gets bigger and better. There may be some changes coming down this year, but I will let you know later if that is the case. Again, thanks!! WVFB Field Representative Bill Aiken accompanied nine ladies to the 2013 National Women’s Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, April 6-8. It was a great conference and there were many excellent seminars and mini-sessions. Topics included “Exercising Our Influence”; “What Change Means”; “Budget Impacts on Agriculture and You” and one on “Older Farmers: Assessing Risks”. The latter one was very interesting, especially when we learned that many problems start in our early years, even before we begin thinking about skin problems, hearing loss or bone and muscle deterioration. We also went on some wonderful tours, which introduced us to a whole different climate, landscape 24 West Virginia Farm Bureau News and vegetation. It was beautiful, but there’s no place like home! The posters for the Agriculture in West Virginia contest have been judged, and the winners are: First place, Eva Marie Valentine, Monongalia County; Second place, Mackenzie Myers, Jefferson County; Third place, Andrea Miller, Greenbrier County. All of the posters were great, as usual, and made judging difficult. Many thanks to all the schools that participated, and to all the children who entered. We are holding our annual Safety Days now, and have approximately 13 camps scheduled at this time. We wish all of you a successful year. Please let us know how many students participated so we know how many youth we reached. Don’t forget about Ag in the Classroom. As I have mentioned before, the end of the school year is very busy, and you may have better luck getting into the schools at the beginning of the school year before the teachers get too busy. Please continue to work on the Flora Turner Youth Speech Contest. The topics for this year are: “How Government Regulations Help and Hinder Agriculture”, “Impact of Technology on Agriculture” and “Genetic Engineering in Crops and Animals”. Don’t forget the tickets for the Gun & Quilt Raffle. The quilt is finished and commemorates West Virginia’s 150th anniversary. It was made by Joyce Ferrebee of Parkersburg. It is almost Fair time, when everything gets so busy! Have a safe, happy and fun time this summer. God bless!! JoEllen