Renowned author Jess Lair once wrote, “Children are not things to be molded, but are people to be unfolded.” While there is truth to that, I’d also argue that the individuals who help them unfold play a formative role in the people those children turn out to be.
I’ll admit that when I started at Central Florida Ag News six years ago, I knew little about the agriculture community and the opportunities available for local youth in ag. But as I became active, attending events, cheering the kids on, and reporting on the extensive work educators put in to help these children grow, I came to learn that you’d be hard-pressed to find people who care more about the future of ag than the individuals right here in the Polk ag community.
There is nothing short of a small army of individuals — working both in plain sight and behind the scenes — helping to peel back the layers of each child and help them realize their potential.
- The most obvious, of course, are the ag teachers and FFA advisers who advocate day in and day out for the students to make sure each student is seen … and heard.
- Jessica Anderson, assistant director of agriculture for Polk County Public Schools, who wears about 10 (or more) hats and still manages to prioritize the students, knows each student by name, has fought for ag education in the county, and still manages to keep me updated on the most recent FFA news.
- Carole McKenzie, executive director of the Polk County Farm Bureau, who champions the kids and offers them countless opportunities to engage with the community.
- Sarah Waldman, program coordinator for the Farm Bureau, whose shared FFA experience has helped her curate a closeness with many of the students.
- Members of the community who lend their time, including officials like County Commissioner Bill Braswell, who has been instrumental in pushing for the new Agricultural Center that is now in the works; Laura Lee Taylor, who played a key role in creating the GiveWell fund “A Community in Support of Agriculture” to help raise money for the center; and Polk County Schools Superintendent Frederick Heid, who understands the importance of ag education and helped to clear the way for the new Homeland Community Farm, among others.
I’m sure there are plenty more, but these are the standouts in my mind. They are leading the small army — the boots on the ground, if you will — that is helping to give our youth in ag a way forward.