COLUMBUS – Nine farmers and agribusiness professionals from around Ohio recently graduated from Ohio Farm Bureau’s AgriPOWER Institute Class XIII. The elite leadership program was started in 2008 to help agricultural advocates gain influence over public policy issues that impact their businesses and communities.
Class XIII graduates are Heidi Breyley of Wellington, Emily Buehler of Columbus, Amanda Bush of Edison, Renee Hamilton of Mechanicsburg, Stefanie Richardson of Medina, Katherine Share of Columbus, Adam Shawhan of South Charleston, Kayla Weaver of Upper Sandusky and Kris Weiser of Gambier.
Over the course of a year, Class XIII participants learned from experts on how to become better leaders and advocates for the agricultural industry, including spokesperson and media training, etiquette training, social networking and communications. They learned about public policy matters important to their local communities, as well as the state, nation and world. They visited Washington, D.C. where they learned about national and global issues, and they visited diverse agricultural operations in Texas so they could better understand the differences and similarities in agriculture from state to state.
Partnering with Ohio Farm Bureau on AgriPOWER Class XIII are Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation, Ohio Soybean Council, Farm Credit Mid-America, Select Sires, Freedom Freight, Crossroads Crop Insurance and Highland County Farm Bureau.
Applications for AgriPOWER Class XIV will open this spring. To learn more about AgriPOWER, visit ohiofarmbureau.org/agripower.
