Greetings! As I write this, our thoughts and prayers are with our fellow farmers, ranchers, and citizens who were heavily impacted by Hurricane Idalia. Florida Farm Bureau has published storm-related resources for farm families on its website at www.ffbf.org. I would like to praise our Polk County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations and Polk County Fire and Rescue teams for their service while deployed to assist Florida communities impacted by this storm.
We held our annual Youth Speech Contest on August 22 with a great group of participants at both the high school and middle school levels. Participants presented their speeches on the topic “How have supply chain issues impacted Florida agriculture?” Clayton Keene of Lake Wales High School placed first in the Senior Division, with Jasmyn Billano of Haines City High School placing second, and Charleigh Wood of George Jenkins High School placing third. The Junior Division winners were Mattie Fountain of Lakeland Christian School placing first and Mason Scheloske of R.W. Blake Academy placing second. Clayton Keene and Mattie Fountain moved on to the District Youth Speech Contest to represent Polk County. At the District Contest, Clayton Keene placed third in the Senior Division, and Mattie Fountain placed first in the Junior Division. We are proud of each student who participated in the event! (See photos from the event on page 22.)
We will hold the 81st Annual Polk County Farm Bureau Membership Meeting on Thursday, October 12 at the W.H. Stuart Center in Bartow beginning at 6:30 p.m. Active Polk Farm Bureau members will receive mailed invitations. The program will include dinner and fellowship, an update on Polk agriculture education initiatives with a multi-speaker panel led by Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Fred Heid, award recognitions, and a brief member business meeting. If you would like to RSVP, are interested in sponsoring this event, or need additional information, please contact Sarah True at saraht@pcfb.org, or call 863-533-0561, ext. 112.
You can also register to attend or purchase a sponsorship via the QR code below:
We hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Leigh Ann Wynn
President