March 28, 2012
www.gfb.org
Vol. 30 No. 13
GFB HOLDS EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE Georgia Farm Bureau members got a look at what various activist groups are saying about agriculture and received training on how to counter those views during the 2012 GFB Educational Leadership Conference on March 24 at the Macon Marriott. During the conference, GFB presented the Ronald McDonald House of Central Georgia with a check for $10,000, the proceeds collected by county Farm Bureaus around the state during the annual Food Check-Out Week activities. “We’ve been so excited and so appreciative of the support that we’ve gotten through the years through Georgia Farm Bureau,” said Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Georgia Executive Director Bonnie Hopkins, who noted that in the 10 years the Macon Ronald McDonald House has been open, approximately 4,500 families have stayed there. “We thank you for what you do in the entire state for Ronald McDonald Houses,” Hopkins said. Keynote speaker Betty Wolanyk, chief operating officer of Ag Literacy Works, gave a presentation entitled “Are You Smarter than an Activist?” Wolanyk showed a variety of tactics used by activist groups that are attacking modern agriculture. These groups, which have made pushes into schools, are well-funded and their campaigns are effective, Wolanyk said, providing a list of 21 groups that have more than $820 million at their disposal. She also noted that most of them are intertwined. “Farm Bureaus need to start telling their story and tell people that what these various activist groups and book authors are saying isn’t true,” Wolanyk said. “Farmers work diligently to provide excellent care for their animals and a safe and nutritious food supply.” Participants received training from American Farm Bureau Federation Director of Leadership Development John Torres on how to effectively communicate. Torres showed GFB members how simple and unexpected themes can make their stories memorable. GFB Women’s Committee members Nichelle Stewart of Cherokee County, Angela Todd (pictured above) of Evans County and Elaine Mercer of Laurens County shared how they’ve served as volunteers in school classrooms to show school children how food is produced on the farm. In honor of the 2012-2013 GFB featured commodity, soybeans, Todd walked participants through the process of getting soybean seeds to germinate, putting two seeds in a plastic pouch with a puff of moist cotton to start the process. Karrie Perrin, a third-grade teacher at Toccoa Elementary School in Stephens County, shared a number of activities that GFB volunteers could use to spread agriculture’s message in classrooms.