CATAWBA COUNTY FARM BUREAU Board of Director’s Member Lucas Richard received the Outstanding Contributor to Agriculture Award for 2009. The award is presented each year as part of the Farm City Banquet Program, which was held Nov. 24 at the Hickory American Legion Meeting Hall.

CLAY COUNTY FARM BUREAU Members participated in the county’s Tractor Parade on Sept. 19. The parade, sponsored by the Clay County Tractor Club, stretched almost two miles and included about 80 entries, from a 1940 Farmall to the latest farm equipment. The event raised $3,000 for the Dwight Smith Scholarship Fund, created in honor of a local resident killed in a farming accident. The money will be awarded to a student studying for a career in agriculture, farming or forestry.

COLUMBUS COUNTY FARM BUREAU Member Garland McCullen was among the first 100 inductees to the North Carolina 4-H Hall of Fame in summer 2009. McCullen was Agriculture Extension Agent and Extension Service County Director.

CUMBERLAND COUNTY FARM BUREAU honored Justin Kyle Smith as its Young Farmer of the Year during its annual meeting. Smith, 23, is a 2007 graduate of North Carolina State University with a degree in agricultural business management. He currently produces 700 acres of cotton, 350 acres of soybeans and 25 acres of tobacco with his father on their family farm.

CUMBERLAND COUNTY FARM BUREAU awarded Bill Tew with its Outstanding Service Award. Tew is a Member of NCFB’s Board of Directors, as well as the county Vice President.
Tew is a shining example of outstanding achievement and public service. Among Tew’s many achievements, are the following highlights:
Served as a Cumberland County Farm Bureau Board Member for 37 years.
Served as a North Carolina Farm Bureau State Board Member for 17 years.
Served on the USDA Farm Service Agency Community Committee for 15 years.
Served on Agricultural Advisory Boards.

DAVIE COUNTY FARM BUREAU presented retiring Board Member Charles Phillips a plaque honoring him for 46 years of service. Fellow Board Member Edwin Boger presented Phillips with the recognition during the county Annual Meeting.

DUPLIN COUNTY FARM BUREAU Women’s Committee recently presented 37 one-gallon bags of drink tabs, which were collected for the Ronald McDonald House. Also, they presented a check for $50 to the Kenansville Fire Department.

DUPLIN COUNTY FARM BUREAU held its county Annual Meeting on Oct. 15, with guests Ben Parrish and Josh Smith from the Sheriff’s Department Gang Enforcement Unit. They presented a gang awareness program to about 220 members during the annual meeting.

FRANKLIN COUNTY FARM BUREAU recently participated in the third North Carolina Goat & Sheep Producers Roundup at the Guilford County Cooperative Extension Center in Greensboro. Franklin County Farm Bureau’s Board of Directors sponsored the “NC Chefs Cook-off of Lamb and Chevon,” which included a $2,000 prize for the winning chefs. Catawba Farm Bureau Member and goat producer Susan Proctor was one of three judges in the competition. The two-day event drew more than 135 goat and sheep producers from North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. It also included educational sessions and a training session for youth.

HAYWOOD COUNTY FARM BUREAU honored dairy farmer Wade Francis during its Annual Meeting for 48 years of dedicated service to the organization. Francis served 19 years as county President and 28 years on the state Board of Directors. During his service as President, Francis was instrumental in moving Haywood County Farm Bureau from rented property to its own property and a new state-of-the-art building to serve the membership. Francis worked diligently to address the concerns of county and state farmers on issues concerning production agriculture, and was an outstanding spokesman for vocational education, farm land-use tax, farmland preservation, agriculture research and environmental issues. Haywood County’s 4,500 members are appreciative of the 48 years of leadership Francis gave the organization.

HAYWOOD COUNTY FARM BUREAU was recognized for its support for NCFB’s Agriculture in the Classroom Program. The county paid the salary of nine substitute teachers and provided breakfast and lunch for workshop participants. Attendees included Anne Garrett, Superintendant of Schools; Terry Rogers, Haywood County Farm Bureau President; Sandy Caldwell, Elementary Supervisor; and Chuck Francis, School Board Chairman.

IREDELL COUNTY FARM BUREAU recently presented financial aid to the county’s five Future Farmers of America chapters. County President David Sides, fourth from left, presented representatives from the five chapters with the donations.

LEE COUNTY FARM BUREAU was a sponsor of the Third Annual Meat Goat Show held Sept. 16 at the Lee Regional Fair. The event included a Showmanship Competition and exhibitors from Richmond, Moore, Montgomery, Hoke, Anson and Lee counties. County Farm Bureau President John Cameron and Katherine Southard, Miss North Carolina 2009, presented ribbons to the winners of the goat show.

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY FARM BUREAU established an Agriculture Foundation endowment in honor of NCFB Senior Vice President J.M. Wright Jr. The $50,000 endowment is a scholarship for Rockingham County students planning to attend North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, or a North Carolina community college to study for a career in agriculture or agri-science. The endowment honors the commitment that Wright has demonstrated as a leader and former President of the Rockingham County Farm Bureau. Rockingham County Farm Bureau previously established an endowment at Rockingham Community College and provides three $1,000 scholarships.

SAMPSON COUNTY FARM BUREAU Women’s Committee served a pizza and Pepsi lunch to the Compensatory Education Class at Sampson Community College. About 50 people were served.

WAKE COUNTY FARM BUREAU Women’s Committee recently visited Hope Chapel preschoolers to help educate them during their farm unit of study. Sixty children milked a cow, made “moo masks,” painted pumpkins and made pumpkin pie snacks. Also, Women’s Committee Member Michelle Dupree delivered pumpkins to kindergarten and first-grade classes at Willow Springs Elementary School.

WILSON COUNTY FARM BUREAU Women’s Committee recently held a car seat safety check at Rock Ridge Elementary School, with the help of the school’s principal, the Highway Patrol, the Department of Transportation and the local EMS. Before the event, parents were notified that when they came to drop their child off at school, they could have their child’s safety seat inspected to make sure it was positioned and secured in their vehicle properly. Parents were also given pamphlets on car seat safety. The inspections were free.

COUNTY FARM BUREAU Members from Anson, Ashe, Catawba, Iredell, McDowell, Lincoln, Rowan and Yadkin counties traveled to Moultrie, Ga. in October 2009 to attend the Sunbelt Agricultural Expo. North Carolina Farm Bureau President Larry Wooten also attended this year’s event as North Carolina was the Spotlight State in 2009. NCFB, the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, North Carolina State University and The N.C. State Grange collaborated on an exhibit representing North Carolina agriculture. Henderson County sod farmer Fred Pittillo was recognized as the North Carolina Farmer of the Year.

WAKE COUNTY FARM BUREAU set up interactive agricultural displays at the Jordan Lake Heritage Day on Oct. 3. Vice President Richard Jenks showed visitors how to shell corn and loop tobacco. Michelle and Melanie Dupree offered children the chance to milk a cow, make a “moo mask,” and choose an activity book to take home. About 50 children participated.

WAYNE COUNTY FARM BUREAU Members Bryant and Debbie Worley were among the four winners nationwide of the 2009 Pork Industry Environmental Steward Award given by Pork Checkoff in conjunction with National Hog Farmer Magazine. Judges representing pork producers and environmental groups selected Bryant Worley Farms, Inc. of Princeton from among candidates who demonstrate commitment to upholding the ideal relationship between pork production and the environment. The Worley’s operate their farm with the thinking that farmers were the first environmentalists, and they were previously honored in 2005 as the North Carolina Soil and Water Association’s Outstanding Conservation Farm Family. The Worley’s also played an important role in raising the 2009 National Thanksgiving Turkey presented by the National Turkey Federation for the White House “Pardoning.” The Worley Family Farm, growers for Goldsboro Milling, Company, Inc., cared for the birds.

NORTH CAROLINA FARM BUREAU’S LEAD TEAM had its fall conference Sept. 17-19 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Asheville. The focus of this September’s conference was Communicating with the Media. Bob Wilson, of American Farm Bureau, conducted a session called “Have I Got A Story for You,” during which participants held mock interviews with each other and were critiqued. The group visited WLOS-TV’s station to learn how television programs are put together and how to prepare themselves for television interviews. They also visited the Asheville Citizen-Times newspaper, where they met with the editor and the agriculture reporter to learn ways to hone their skills for print media. The conference also included a visit to the Biltmore vineyard, a workshop on the proper way to write Thank You notes and a trip to the Asheville Farmers Market.

During the Antiques Roadshow stop in Raleigh last June, an unidentified Eastern North Carolinian made big headlines when it was discovered that she was the owner of the highest appraised antique ever found on the show. Show publicist Erika Denn said the collection of Chinese jade from the period of 1736 to 1795 was valued at $710,000 to $1.07 million. That breaks the previous record of $500,000 set last year in Palm Springs, Calif., for a painting by abstract expressionist Clyfford Still.

The precious family heirloom that’s been passed down, or the one-of-a-kind collector’s item picked up on a family road trip might not be worth millions, but all collectors will verify that everything has a story behind it.

Cumberland County Farm Bureau member Andrew Gillis and his family have been collecting antiques as a way to preserve their family’s history and use it to educate others about what life was like in earlier days. The Gillis Hill Farm has been in the Gillis family since the 1700s. Through the process of restoring some of the original buildings, the Gillis family thought that others, particularly local school children, might be able to learn something from their family history, and they decided to open the farm to the public.

“We wanted to share our history with everyone around us,” Gillis says.

The family offers tours from April to November for schools and groups that are interested in learning more about farming.

“The tours are not just about the farm animals,” Gillis says. “We show them about old farm life, what it was like to live back then, the way chores were done.”

The tours lead children through various scenes where they learn about the old farm equipment, how crops were harvested, how ice cream was made, how clothes were washed and other practical information. The farm features treasures like an old rope bed from the early 1800s, a horse-drawn buggy from 1890, a rifle from 1862, a house built in 1852 and a steam powered cotton gin from 1911.

“It’s our way of still living off the land, but teaching with it too,” Gillis says.

For Rowan County Farm Bureau member Tom Smith, collecting antiques is a way to remember his past. Smith has an extensive collection of John Deere tractors and equipment.
“I grew up on a farm close to here and worked for a farmer that had a two-cycle John Deere tractor,” Smith says. “In the ’80s, I thought I’d get that tractor and fix it up. It’s a way to remember earlier days, and each one of these tractors carries fond memories.”

Smith and his wife both like to collect antiques, and they enjoy hunting for treasures when they travel. “That’s our thing when we’re out travelling together; we just enjoy looking around antique shops to find things,” Smith says.

His wife has a large collection of old irons in a display that shows how irons have evolved over the years. The earliest irons in the collection date back to the 1700s. The Smiths found them while traveling in Europe.

“We both remember our grandmother using these old irons, and that got us interested in the different kinds of irons.”

Smith’s collection might be worthy of a museum display, but he says it’s all just for his enjoyment. In addition to the tractors and irons, the barn where he keeps his antiques also houses other collectibles like butter churns, washboards, flax wheels, hay trolleys, an old school desk, Depression glass and many other items.

Onslow County Farm Bureau member Marion Howard also collects antiques that he remembers from his childhood.

“I was always into old things, and I kept a lot of the things I grew up with,” Howard says.

Howard has set up an antique museum in the loft of one of his barns where he displays a wide variety of antiques from Octagon soap to ice saws to lightning rods to a full-blown tobacco grading station.

“I’m a scrounger,” Howard says. “I don’t throw anything away; I keep it. But some of these are things I’ve bought or found or someone gave to me. People that know what I’m doing always bring me things.”

Some of the farming equipment that Howard has kept over the years originated from his father. “My father was a sharecropper. He started out with nothing, but he was very smart and a hard worker, and by the time he died, he had done very well,” Howard says. “Looking at what he had to work with and what we have now—it shows how far we can come in one generation. I always think, ‘Well, they’re not going to come up with anything better than this,’ and then they do.”

Howard’s motivation for expanding his collection was to showcase what life was like in earlier days. “I want to be able to share this and pass it on,” he says. “You can go to a museum and see lots of things, but they don’t have all the things we used to use on a daily basis.”

In other news…Eric and Tammy McPherson hosted a multi-county Young Farmers and Ranchers meeting in August at their farm. YF&R members from Alamance, Chatham, Guilford and Rockingham counties enjoyed an afternoon with their families and each other.

BUNCOMBE COUNTY Farm Bureau held a “Hay Day” event at the Western North Carolina Nature Center on Oct. 30 in an effort to expose people to farming and rural lifestyles. The county’s Farm Bureau had a real tractor and hay baler on site to go along with the theme. Buncombe County Farm Bureau’s Greg Young (pictured in green shirt) was on hand to pass out safety tips to both children and adults. The county also supplied an event booth.

NC FARM BUREAU FEDERATION held its annual Collegiate Discussion Meet on Nov. 8 at the Federation’s headquarters in Raleigh. Contestants for this year’s meet included Crystal Roberts and Lee Tyre, both students at N.C. State University, and Jaron Jones and Carla Saunders, students at North Carolina A&T State University. The participants discussed the topic of “How do we correct misconceptions about Farm Bureau?” for approximately 25 minutes and were judged on their cooperation, communication and ability to offer constructive criticism while analyzing this agricultural problem and developing solutions. After a competitive discussion, Crystal Roberts was the winner. From Buncombe County, she is a junior at NCSU with a major in animal science. She was awarded a plaque, $500 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Sacramento, Calif., where she will represent North Carolina in the National Collegiate Discussion Meet held during the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Leadership Conference, Feb. 7-9.

CUMBERLAND COUNTY Farm Bureau member David Collier was recently named a 2008 McCloy Fellow. He was given the opportunity to travel to Germany, where he received a closer look at agricultural, farm and food-supply conditions abroad.

The McCloy Fellowship was established in 1975 and gives young Americans and Germans the opportunity to broaden their professional experience in environmental affairs, journalism, urban affairs and agricultural production.

JONES COUNTY YF&R members Trent and Rebecca Scott recently visited the first-grade class of Terri Mack and Anita Scott at A.H. Bangert Elementary School in New Bern. They read the book The Tree Farmer and presented it to Mrs. Scott and the assistant principal for the school’s library.

They took the class outside to plant a Leyland Cyprus tree, and each child was able to help dig the hole, put dirt back in the hole and then a child watered the tree. Each of the children wrote them thank-you notes and drew pictures of their visit and planting the tree.

RANDOLPH COUNTY Farm Bureau recently celebrated the Grand Opening of a new satellite office in Archdale, at 102-A Bonnie Place. On hand for the ribbon-cutting were board members Ronald Self, Bud Smith, Sheela Wright (holding her granddaughter), Jerry Davis, AnnaRae Hodgin, N.C. House Rep. Patricia Hurley, agency manager Bill Foster, Congressman Howard Coble, Archdale Mayor Bert Stone, board members Lloyd West and Jimmie Moffit, and several employees.

ROWAN COUNTY Farm Bureau sponsored a forum for all candidates for Rowan County and North Carolina offices on Thursday, Oct. 2. Candidates for the General Assembly included Lorene Coates, Ada Fisher, Andrew Brock and William Burnette. In addition, three of the four county commission candidates were present: Raymond Coltrain, Carl Ford and Jim Sides.

In other news…Farm Bureau members Jason and Robin Starnes hosted a “Day at the Farm” event for nearly 35 school children on Saturday, Oct. 4 at the couple’s farm. Jason and Robin are active in YF&R activities county and statewide. The children were entertained by a hay ride, crafts using farm products and learning how to milk a cow. The event was a fun learning experience for all who attended.

SAMPSON COUNTY Farm Bureau Women’s Committee contributed gently used items to a Duplin/Sampson fundraiser auction for Valley of Hope, a center that helps women in need, on Nov. 8 in Wallace.

WAKE COUNTY Farm Bureau Women’s Committee members Josephine Evans and Shirley Burt shared the importance of agriculture with more than 120 students when they attended the Apex Business Alliance Career Fair on Oct. 17. Each student was given an “Ag Paths to Success” brochure and viewed a poster about careers in agriculture. The fair, held at the Apex Community Center, caters to three local middle schools in the area.

In other news…Women’s Committee members Monnie Jenks and Shirley Burt visited with preschoolers and kindergartners at St. Michael’s School in Cary on Oct. 14 for an “Ag in the Classroom” event. Students learned about cows, were allowed to milk a pretend cow and made a “Moo Mask.” Burt read to the students the book Sweet Potato Pie and helped them make their own pie to eat. A total of 75 students participated. The teachers were given goody bags filled with treats and “Ag in the Classroom” brochures.

BLADEN COUNTY Farm Bureau Board Member Danny McDuffie (center) and his son Dan (right) received this year’s Peanut Yield Champions Award from Bob Sutter with the N.C. Peanut Growers Association. In addition to winning on the county level, the McDuffies were also awarded the North Carolina State Yield Award. The McDuffie’s average yield for the 2007 growing season was 5,700 pounds per acre, which is an accolade to their farming and production practices.

In other activity…The Bladen County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee donated photosynthesis promenade kits to county schools. Denise White, left, is shown here teaching her class using the kit. Students enjoyed the kits and learned about agriculture.

CARTERET COUNTY Farm Bureau awarded two scholarships of $500 each to Amber Nead and Hannah Mical.

In other activity…Carteret County Farm Bureau recently hosted a two-day meeting of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. The county provided refreshments for breakfast, afternoon snacks, and the use of its county board meeting room in the Beaufort office.

CARTERET COUNTY Farm Bureau President Mickey Simmons was awarded a plaque “in recognition, appreciation and support for reading in the schools of North Carolina.”

CASWELL COUNTY Farm Bureau member Von “Mac” Baldwin, a beef and poultry farmer from Yanceyville, was recently named the 2008 North Carolina winner of the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award. He is one of 10 finalists for the Southeastern Farmer of the Year Award, which will be announced Oct. 14 at the Sunbelt Ag Expo farm show in Moultrie, Ga.

Baldwin has more than 400 grass-fed Charolais cows, which he sells through his Web site, www.baldwinbeef.com, at Whole Foods stores in North and South Carolina and at the Carrboro Farmers Market. Caswell County Farm Bureau President Hester Vernon nominated Baldwin for the award because of his active participation in Farm Bureau and other agricultural activities.

In other activity…Caswell County Farm Bureau participated in “Aging with Gusto,” a seminar for senior citizens held June 11 at the Caswell County Civic Center. Farm Bureau representatives handed out 120 bags containing information about member services to the more than 100 seniors and other vendors in attendance.

CHOWAN COUNTY Farm Bureau members recently took part in a Farm Safety Day at the Chowan County Recreation Department in Tyner. About 300 third-through-fifth-graders from D.F. Walker Elementary School attended the event. The schoolchildren visited a variety of booths and learned ways to stay safe when dealing with combines and tractors, lawn mowers, fire, RVs, chemicals, bad weather and water. Willy the Safety Squirrel was on hand to greet the children as they arrived and passed out coloring books, crayons, safety tattoos and stickers.

CUMBERLAND COUNTY Farm Bureau held a water quality meeting June 3 at the Charlie Rose Center. Twenty-six people from several counties attended. Cumberland County Farm Bureau’s YF&R Committee sponsored the meeting.

DARE COUNTYFarm Bureau’s Board of Directors and special guests feasted on a fresh seafood dinner, which included soft shell crabs that were hauled in by veteran board member Edward Etheridge earlier in the day. The group gathered to congratulate Thomas Pratt-Lozupone on receiving a $1,000 scholarship from the county Farm Bureau to be used toward his expenses at N.C. State University.

EDGECOMBE COUNTY Farm Bureau awarded five $1,000 scholarships to local high school students. The scholarship recipients were: Matthew Drake, son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Drake of Pinetops; Caroline Pilgreen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James T. Pilgreen of Whitakers; Jacob Pearce, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Pearce of Tarboro; Eric Parker, son of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Parker of Rocky Mount; and Michele Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kent Smith of Rocky Mount. Drake, Pilgreen, Pearce and Smith all plan to attend N.C. State University in the fall. Parker will attend N.C. A & T State University.

FRANKLIN COUNTY Farm Bureau and the United Way co-sponsored the 14th Annual Ag Field Day Tuesday, Sept. 16 at Riverbend Park. Every third-grader in the county was invited to attend the event, which offered a morning of hands-on experiences with agricultural life.

Top row, from left, Farm Bureau’s Kay Sims was on hand as Franklin County Farm Bureau’s Vice-President Steve Nelms presented a contribution on behalf of Farm Bureau and United Way to event planner Martha Mobley. United Way’s Priscilla Henderson is pictured far right. On hand for the check presentation were the children of Farm Bureau members Alyssa and Matthew Dorsey, who operate Bahemah Angus Farm in Louisburg. They are, from left, Micah, Leah, Anna and Silas.

MECKLENBURG COUNTY Farm Bureau Board Members Johnny and Shelby Wallace picked up an award for Wallace Farm in Huntersville at the Charlotte Business Journal’s Green Awards. The event took place April 16 at the Charlotte Convention Center. Wallace Farm, along with Linda Construction and R.T. Dooley, was presented the Green Entrepreneurial Effort/Innovative Idea award. The program was sponsored by the Charlotte Business Journal and the Charlotte chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.

NASH COUNTY Farm Bureau former board of director’s member Elmer Daniel received a certificate naming him an Honorary Director. County President Greg Bunn presented Daniel with the certificate and a plaque “In Appreciation and Honor” of his service during a directors’ meeting April 3 in Nashville. Daniel joined the Farm Bureau in 1947 and served on the board of directors from 1961 to 2007. He also served as a county commissioner and on the board of Nash General Hospital.

American Farm Bureau Federation’s American Farm Bureau Federation’s Foundation for Agriculture awarded North Carolina teacher Sandra Hatley with a $1,200 White-Reinhardt Fund for Education scholarship to attend the National Agriculture in the Classroom conference in Costa Mesa, CA.

Hatley was one of 10 teachers recognized for outstanding efforts to promote agricultural literacy. American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture sponsored the awards in cooperation with the AFBF Women’s Leadership Committee.

RICHMOND COUNTY Farm Bureau Board Member Myers Waddell and his wife, Earlene, participated in Washington Street School’s N.C. Heritage Day, June 6. Mrs. Waddell spoke to nine classes of fourth-graders about North Carolina agriculture and how people farmed in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The students learned about the many different commodities produced by N.C. farmers, such as chicken, turkey, cotton, tobacco and corn. Afterward, Mr. and Mrs. Waddell presented each class with donated Frisbees.

RUTHERFORD COUNTY Farm Bureau recently awarded scholarships to three students starting college this fall. Tiffany Brown, of Rutherfordton, is a graduate of Chase High School and is the daughter of Michael and Kathy Brown. She will attend N.C. State University and will receive $1,000 per semester for four years. Haley Lovelace, of Bostic, is a graduate of East Rutherford High School and is the daughter of Ronald and Debora Lovelace. She will also attend NCSU and will receive $1,000 per semester for four years. Tramell Forney, of Union Mills, is a graduate of R-S Central High School and the son of Tramell and Sandra Forney. He will attend N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro and will receive $1,000 per semester for four years.

STANLY COUNTY Farm Bureau held a Member Appreciation Day May 31 at the local Farm Bureau office.

Georgia and Michael, the children of Andrew and Ashley Burleson, milk a cow at Member Appreciation Day.

WARREN COUNTY Farm Bureau’s Board of Directors held its Second Annual Legislative Dinner recently. Among the 60 attendees at the event were four of the five county commissioners, farm advisers from the Washington, D.C. offices of U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, N.C. Rep. Michael Wray and N.C. Sen. Doug Berger.

In other activity…Women’s Committee members participated in the National Education Association’s Read Across America this spring at Mariam Boyd Elementary School in Warrenton. They served refreshments and lunch to 35 teachers at a workshop co-led by Pat Riethmier, local N.C. Teacher of the Year for Ag in the Classroom. In April, the group visited the Ronald McDonald House in Chapel Hill and donated $200 in supplies and home-based goodies. Women’s Committee members also sponsored local Relay for Life activities.

Also…The board of directors focused on community aid this year and donated $700 to the local 4-H for the spring five-county livestock show and sale. They also donated $5,000 to a Jaycees fundraiser for a local Farm Bureau member, a dairy farmer, who was involved in a farm accident.

And…The board of directors awarded $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors Lauren Lesas and Lindsay Varnadore. The scholarships are renewable for three years as long as the students continue to major in an agriculture-related field and maintain a specific GPA. The board awarded one-time $500 scholarships to seven other worthy students majoring in a variety of fields.

WAYNE COUNTY Farm Bureau Board of Directors sponsored a team in the 2008 Wayne County Relay For Life May 16 and 17 on the Wayne Community College campus in Goldsboro. Activities were held throughout the year to raise money for the annual American Cancer Society event.

The team’s theme for its tent at the relay was “Sowing Seeds for a Cure.” The group paid tribute to team members who were cancer survivors. They encouraged event-goers to pay tribute to loved ones who either survived or succumbed to battles with cancer by sowing a seed in a planter and writing their loved one’s name on a paper flower.

In its rookie year, the team, through its fund-raising efforts, donations and corporate sponsorships raised $6,500.

“I am so proud of all the hard work that our team members and volunteers have put in to make our first year participating in the Relay a success,” said team captain Amy Shivar. “On behalf of the Wayne County Farm Bureau Relay For Life team, I would like to thank everyone who has donated to this event.”

ALAMANCE CO. AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Burlington
Aug. 26–30, 2008

ALEXANDER CO. AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Taylorsville
Sept. 30–Oct 4, 2008

ALLEGHANY CO. AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Sparta
Aug. 16–23, 2008

ATLANTIC DISTRICT FAIR
Ahoskie
Oct. 27–Nov. 1, 2008

AVERY CO. FAIR
Newland
Sept. 9–13, 2008

BETHWARE COMMUNITY FAIR
Kings Mountain
July 29-Aug. 2, 2008

BURKE CO. FAIR
Morganton
Aug. 5–9, 2008

CABARRUS CO. AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Concord
Sept. 5–13, 2008

CALDWELL CO. AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Lenoir
Sept. 23–27, 2008

CAPE FEAR FAIR & EXPO
Wilmington
Oct. 30–Nov. 8, 2008

CENTRAL CAROLINA FAIR
Greensboro
Sept. 12–21, 2008

CHATHAM CO. FAIR
Pittsboro
Sept. 17–20, 2008

CHOWAN CO. REGIONAL FAIR
Edenton
Sept. 23–27, 2008

CLEVELAND CO. FAIR
Shelby
Sept. 25–Oct 4, 2008

COASTAL CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL FAIR
New Bern
Oct. 16–26, 2008

COLUMBUS CO. AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Whiteville
Oct. 6–11, 2008

CUMBERLAND CO. FAIR
Fayetteville
Sept. 18–28, 2008

DAVIDSON CO. AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Lexington
Sept. 15–20, 2008

DIXIE CLASSIC FAIR
Winston-Salem
Oct. 3–12, 2008

DREXEL COMMUNITY FAIR
Drexel
Aug. 19–23, 2008

HALIFAX-NORTHAMPTON CO. FAIR
Roanoke Rapids
Oct. 21–25, 2008

HAYWOOD CO. FAIR
Waynesville
Sept. 22–29, 2008

HICKORY AMERICAN LEGION FAIR
Hickory
Aug. 27–Sept. 1, 2008

IREDELL CO. AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Statesville
Sept. 1–6, 2008

LEE REGIONAL AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Sanford
Oct. 6–12, 2008

MOORE CO. AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Carthage
Oct. 7–11, 2008

N.C. MOUNTAIN STATE FAIR
Fletcher
Sept. 5–14, 2008

N.C. STATE FAIR
Raleigh
Oct. 16–26, 2008

ONSLOW CO. AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Jacksonsville
Oct. 6–11, 2008

PITT CO. AMERICAN LEGION
AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Greenville
Sept. 29–Oct. 4, 2008

RICHMOND CO.
AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Hamlet
Oct. 14–18, 2008

ROBESON REGIONAL
AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Lumberton
Oct. 2–11, 2008

ROCKY MOUNT AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Rocky Mount
Sept. 8–13, 2008

ROWAN CO. AGRICULTURAL
& INDUSTRIAL FAIR
Salisbury
Sept. 15–20, 2008

STANLY AMERICAN LEGION POST #76 AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Albemarle
Sept. 16–20, 2008

STOKES CO. AGRICULTURAL FAIR
King
Sept. 8–13, 2008

SURRY CO. AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Mt. Airy
Sept. 1–6, 2008

WARREN CO. AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Warrenton
Sept. 23–27, 2008

WAYNE REGIONAL AGRICULTURAL FAIR
Goldsboro
Sept. 25–Oct. 4, 2008

WILKES CO. AGRICULTURAL FAIR
North Wilkesboro
Oct. 14–18, 2008

WILSON CO. AMERICAN
LEGION FAIR
Wilson
Sept. 16–21, 2008