Page 12 - CFAN_Aug2014

Polk County Farm Bureau
Protecting & Promoting Polk Agriculture since 1942
www.pcfb.org
Phone: 863.533.0561
Jimmy Williams
Agency Manager
Bartow Office Agents
Phone: 863.533.0561
Daren Mason James L. Moser, Jr. Allan Prevatt Jimmy Williams Jason Yates
Haines City Office Agent
203 S Dixie Drive
Phone: 863.421.4545
Rhonda Ambrose
Winter Haven Office Agents
221 Avenue O SW
Phone: 863.299.3892
Beverlee Lewis Barry Walker
Calling from Lake Wales 863.676.3187
PCFB | president’s column
photo by PEZZIMENTI
AS THE SUMMER BEGINS TO WIND DOWN, your Polk County Farm Bureau remains hard at work planning for a full schedule of upcoming events and staying engaged in local, state, and national issues.
Shortly after the new school year begins, we will be hosting our annual Youth Speech Contest. The contest will be held Tuesday, August 26 at 4 p.m. at the PCFB office in Bartow. Each year we have a talented field of contestants, and I’m sure this year will be no different. It will be exciting to hear students’ thoughts on the 2014 topic: Food security is an important issue to the people of the United States. How can Florida agriculture continue to provide quality solutions for the future?
On Saturday, September 13, the PCFB YF&R and Women’s Committee will host a Sporting Clay Shoot Fundraiser at Fish Hawk Sporting Clays. Proceeds from the event will be used to support
additional YF&R Scholarships for high school seniors and for the Wild Game Food Bank, a local organization that coordinates the donation, processing & distribution of wild game harvests to feed those in need. For more information, contact Carole McKenzie at (863) 533-0561, ext. 111 or register online at www.pcfb.org/hunger-shootout.
PCFB and the UF/IFAS Polk County Extension Service will host the 2014 Polk County Ag Tour on Friday, September 26. As of the time of this writing, seats were almost full, so if you are interested in attending be sure to contact us right away at (863) 533-0561, ext. 111.
Don’t forget our upcoming Annual Meeting and Political Forum on Thursday, October 2, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the W.H. Stuart Center in Bartow. We will start out with the corn boil and political forum beginning at 5:30 and then move into dinner and the Annual Membership Meeting. Formal invitations will be mailed to PCFB active members. Call the Bartow office (863) 533-0561 ext. 112 or email lorik@pcfb.org to rsvp or get more information. Our special thanks to Bankers South and The Mosaic Company for sponsoring this year’s event.
The Florida Farm Bureau Annual Meeting will be held October 29-31 in Ponte Vedra Beach. To register or get more information, visit http://www.floridafarmbureau.org/annual_meeting.
In addition to the activities above, PCFB has commissioned the University of Florida’s Food & Resource Economics Department to perform a study on the current economic impacts of the Polk County agriculture industry. We look forward to sharing that information with the industry and the community at an Economic Summit event tentatively scheduled for early spring 2015. We will bring further reports as this initiative develops. If you are interested in partnering with PCFB in this endeavor, please contact Carole at carolem@pcfb.org.
Sincerely,
KYLE R. STORY
President, Polk County Farm Bureau
Upcoming Event:
Youth Speech Contest Tuesday, August 26 at 4 p.m. at the PCFB office in Bartow.
12 | CFAN
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