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Mission of the Committee:
"The Kansas
Farm Bureau Women's Committee contributes an essential
perspective to the organization, broadening opportunities
for women to become increasingly involved in all aspects of
Farm Bureau, actively participating in the implementation of
priority issues involving agriculture education, improving
the quality of life in rural communities, promotion of the
industry and agricultural advocacy."
2007 Census of Agriculture - Women Farmers
The 2007
Census of Agriculture shows that women have
a growing presence in U.S. agriculture.
Women are running more farms and ranches,
operating more land, and producing a greater
value of agricultural products than they
were five years ago.
2009 Benefit Silent
Auction
With 124 items
donated, proceeds from our annual
auction were
$4,303!
The 2nd largest since 1995!
Through our KFB Foundation for
Agriculture, those proceeds will be
used to promote agricultural
literacy by placing our children's
book series "Kailey's Ag Adventures"
and lesson plans in Kansas
classrooms.
In 2008, proceeds of
$3,867
were evenly divided between the
KFB Foundations.
Thank you for the generous
donations that have made
this event a success since 1995!
Over the years, this collective
effort has raised $47,555!
2010
County Leadership Conference
You won't want to miss this year's
County Leadership Conference
(CLC) scheduled for April 13 & 14
at the Clarion in Manhattan.
This conference has been planned specifically for County Coordinators and
County Women Leaders and will kick
off with nationally
known speaker and author Carol Grace Anderson's keynote presentation,
"How to Get Fired Up Without Burning
Out!"
Click
here to see the
conference agenda.
Click
here
to see an overview of the
workshops you can select
from.
Registration:
Registration and workshop
selection for all
participants begins Friday,
February 26, 2010 on the KFB
Membership System.
Your County Coordinator will
need to complete the
registration process for
you. Registration is open
through March 23.
Once you are registered, the
coordinator will generate a
receipt that needs to
accompany the $75
registration fee.
Remittance instructions are
included on the bottom of
the receipt.
Hotel: A block
of rooms has been secured at
the Clarion.
Each participant is
responsible for calling the
hotel to make reservations
and arranging payment for
the room*. Mention the
Kansas Farm Bureau County
Leadership Conference when
you call for reservation at
785-539-5311 to
receive the $71
conference rate.
This rate includes a
continental breakfast
(bagels, muffins, fruit,
cereal, yogurts, milk, juice
& coffee). While you
have the option of selecting
any hotel in Manhattan for
your stay, we have not
secured room blocks for this
conference with any hotel
other than the Clarion.
We are looking forward to
serving as your County
Leadership Conference hosts
in April!
The 2010 County Leadership
Conference Planning Team
Pam Dougan,
Neosho County; Patsy Maddy, Norton
County
Craig
Cooper, Jennifer Butler, Meagan Cramer
Sandi Cowdin,
Holly Higgins, Serita Blankenship
Angie
Sutton, Debbie Hargrave
2009
KFB Women's Leadership Conference
- Growing Leaders through
Partnerships and Programs
The KFB Women's
Leadership Conference was
held in Manhattan, April 8 & 9. This year's theme "Growing Leaders
through Partnerships and Programs" builds on last year's theme, "Planting
Seeds to Harvest Leaders."
Here are some of the pictures
from the conference...
(Click on the picture to enlarge)
White-Reinhardt Fund Awards
The AFBF
Foundation is pleased to announce its 7th
year of offering scholarships and
mini-grants through the White-Reinhardt Fund
for Education. Applications for the 2010
program year are now available at the
Foundation’s
Web site (scholarship tab).
The Mini-Grant Program funds
projects that will increase agricultural
literacy. County and state Farm Bureaus may
apply for grants of up to $500 for classroom
education programs for grades K-12 to
initiate new programs or expand existing
programs to additional grade levels or new
subject areas. Grants are available on a
competitive basis.
The National Agriculture in the
Classroom Conference Educator Scholarship
program is to provide travel expense
funds to educators employed by a school
system to attend the national conference and
then use the information gained to expand
their outreach to students regarding food,
fiber and fuel. Educators employed by a
school system and working in grades K-12 who
have demonstrated involvement in
agricultural literacy programs are eligible
to apply.
Specific guidelines and deadlines for the
application process can be found on each
application, but all applications must be
signed by a state Farm Bureau contact and
postmarked to the Foundation by November 2,
2009.
The White-Reinhardt Fund for Education is a
special project of the Foundation in
cooperation with the AFB Women’s Leadership
Committee. It was established to honor two
former chairs of that committee, Berta
White and former chair of the Kansas Farm
Bureau Women's Committee, Linda Reinhardt,
who were leaders in the national effort to
improve agricultural literacy.
Women's
Committee
Meetings
The State
Committee of Farm Bureau
Women met November 19, 2009 in
Manhattan, KS. Click
here to see the minutes from
the meeting.
Committee members and several
KFB staff members toured
The Deanna Rose Children's
Farmstead prior to the August 09 meeting.
Those pictures are posted below.
(click on the picture to
enlarge)
Meet Your State Women's Committee
CHAIR
Helen Norris - Sumner County
Serving since 1993
Helen Norris was elected Kansas
Farm Bureau Women’s Committee
chair at the 1997 KFB annual
meeting and serves as the Kansas
Farm Bureau Women's Committee
chair.
Norris serves on the American
Farm Bureau Women's Leadership
Committee, being elected at the
2003 AFB Annual Meeting.
She has previously served as
Women's Committee Chair for the
KFB 4th District and Sumner
County Farm Bureau. She
has also served as the Sumner
County Farm Bureau president of
the Board, secretary of the
Board and safety chair.
She was the 1990 KFB Leader of
the Year, and in 1996 Norris and
her family won the Sumner County
Farm Bureau Farm Family of the
Year Award. She received the
1995 Sumner County Extension
Council Appreciation Award and
the 1996 Sumner County Fried of
4-H Award. In 1997 she conducted
seminars in Russia about farm
association organization and fun
raising. In 1999 and 2001,
she conducted seminars in
Ukraine about record keeping and
farm management.
Norris continues to work with
Sumner County Farm Bureau. She
is an active member of the
Wellington Church of Christ
which includes teaching Ladies
Bible Class. She and her
husband have worked with the
"Let's Start Talking", teaching
English in Thailand using the
book of Luke.
She attended Oklahoma Christian
College and Kansas State
University, earning a bachelor's
of home economics education and
a master's of Foods Nutrition
from Kansas State University.
Norris and her husband, Thomas,
have three grown children: Marty
Sue, Eric and Lisa. She is
also a proud grandmother of
four.
DISTRICT ONE
Jennifer Brunkow - Pottawatomie County
Serving since 2008
Hi! I'm Jennifer Brunkow. In 2008 I was elected
District 1 Women's Chair. My husband, Glenn and I farm
and ranch in Pottawatomie county with our two children Isaac
(11) and Tatum (9). We just celebrated our 13th
wedding anniversary in November. I always joke about
how we raise whatever isn't making money that year.
but, we do raise Angus cattle, Crossbred cattle, sell Angus
bulls, wheat, milo, soybeans and hay. I'm a firm
believer that educating the consumer and the youth of
America is what
we as producer have to continually do.
DISTRICT TWO
Lois Moss - Johnson County
Serving since 2007
Hi, I'm Lois
Moss and I have served on the
State Women's Committee for the
2nd District since 2007.
For 30
years I dedicated myself to
education and the growth of
the upcoming generation.
Now being on the Johnson
County Farm Bureau
Association Board, I have
been very active in all of
their many projects. All of
my life I have enjoyed doing
for others.
My
husband Bob and I run a
small cow/calf herd, Angus
and Hereford, in Johnson
County and in Douglas County
we have our row crops,
soybeans and corn. We
attend numerous workshops on
crops, farm and cattle
management and continually
work toward improving our
operation.
Bob works
as an outside salesperson
for NAPA. This means winter
and summer chores are up to
Bucky, our yellow lab, and
myself during the week.
In my
spare time, I enjoy
traveling, cooking,
gardening and anything new,
creative, and challenging.
Our lives
have been blessed being able
to continue as the 3rd
generation on our family
farm.
DISTRICT THREE
Karma Michael - Crawford County
Serving since 2008
Karma was elected District 3 Farm Bureau Women's Committee
Chair at the 2008 annual meeting.
Karma currently serves on the Crawford County Farm Bureau
Board as Women's Chair.
Karma graduated from the
University of Kansas Medical Center with a degree in Health
Information Management. She works part-time for the Girard
Medical Center as a coding specialist. Karma also teaches
medical coding classes for Fort Scott Community College.
Besides her involvement with Farm Bureau, Karma is also a
member of the McCune-Girard Young Farm Wives, Secretary of
the McCune Community Center Board, Vice-President of the
McCune Attendance Center PTO, and active with her children
in 4-H. Karma’s family was chosen as the Crawford County
Farm Family of the Year for 2008.
Karma became involved in farming when she married her
husband Jim in 1997. Jim and Karma farm with Jim’s parents
in Crawford County. They have a diversified farm of corn,
wheat, soybeans, and cattle. They also have two daughters,
Morgan (9) and Taylor (6).
DISTRICT FOUR
Susan Long - Cowley County
Serving Since 2007
Susan Long was elected District 4 Farm
Bureau Women's Committee chair at the 2007 annual meeting.
Susan serves on the Cowley County Farm Bureau Board as Vice
President and Women's Chair.
When Susan gets involved in a project it is with 100%
dedication.
Hands-on activities for women and farmers in general are
projects that especially appeal to Susan. Several projects
including Women’s Only Farm Tour, International School Lunch
Program, Food Check Out Day, Day at the State House, Farm
City Week, Cowley County Fair Booth, century Farms, Annual
County Meeting, Scholarships, Ag Safety Week, Listening
Post, and Issue Surfacing tells how involved Susan is in her
Farm Bureau work.
In addition to Farm Bureau, Susan is involved with her work
and community. Susan has worked for the Farm Service
Agency in Cowley County for over 18 years. She is a member
of Soroptimist, a National women helping women organization
where she just served a 3 year term as
Vice President and was co-chair of the Projects and
Community Committee. She is a member of the local American
Legion Women's Auxiliary. She also serves on the Kansas
Association of Support Employees Board as Past President and
the National Association of Support Employees as President.
Susan is active in her church.
Susan helps her husband Darrell farm in Cowley County; they
raise Wheat, Soybeans, Sunflowers, Milo and vegetables in
the garden. Darrell is a Captain at the Winfield Fire
Department and currently serves on the Valley Coop Board and
is a Trustee and Deacon in his church.
Darrell and Susan have two awesome sons; David and Matthew.
David
travels around the central United States building swimming
pools. Matthew is a Corporal in the United States Marine
Corp and just married in April 2008. He is currently
deployed to Afghanistan. Please keep our service men and
women in your prayers. God Bless America!
DISTRICT FIVE
Marilyn Martin - Cloud County
Serving since 2006
Bio not available
DISTRICT SIX
Brenda Dooley - Jewell County
Serving since 2007
Bio not available
DISTRICT SEVEN
Marjorie Cartmill - Harper Co.
Serving since 2006
I was
elected to the State Women's Committee in 2006. I have
served as the Women's Chair at the county level since
1998 and during that time I served one term as Vice
President and 2 terms as President. I have served the
past nine years as an advisor to the County FSA board
and have recently been elected to a two-year term on the FSA board. I do volunteer work for the Anthony
Ministerial Alliance, served as the chairperson for the
nominating committee for the Harper County Conservation
District and I am very active in the Anthony Assembly of
God church.
My Husband
Dan, who is a retired Hospital Administrator and I have
a cow/calf operation and grow wheat and hay. I
enjoy doing anything outside.
We have
three children, nine grandchildren and two great
grandchildren which we enjoying spoiling.
DISTRICT EIGHT
Signe Barnes - Ness County
Serving since 1990
Signe Barnes
has been the Ness County Women's Chair for several
years.
The main
project we have participated in has been Food Check-out
Day. We have had displays in the grocery store, sold
bread for .10 a loaf (about the farmers share of wheat
in the loaf), given away gift certificates for groceries
to the needy, contributed to the food bank in the
county, put table tents in several restaurants. I also
gave a presentation to the Rotary club explaining Food
Check-out Day. During Kansas week in January I have
done the Ice Cream in a Bag for school children.
DISTRICT NINE /
VICE CHAIR
Gay Beth Moore - Haskell County
Serving since 1971
Bio not available
DISTRICT TEN
Susan May - Decatur County
Serving since 2007
Susan and Roger May farm with Roger's family in Decatur
county, in western Kansas. The May family homesteaded
the land in 1887, and Roger is the fifth generation to farm
this land.
Susan and Roger
are the parents of two wonderful children: Ryan, 12, and
Erin, 6. They are past members of the Young Farmer and
Rancher State Committee, and the winner of the AFBF's YF&R
Achievement Award in 1992. Susan won the Outstanding
Yourg Farm Woman Award. Both Roger and Susan have held
many local offices in the Decatur County Farm Bureau
Association. Susan served on the Public Image Task
Force.
We have a
cow/calf operation and sell certified seed wheat. We
grow wheat, corn, milo, sorgum and hay. Roger
currently serves on the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers
and the Kansas Crop Improvement Association.
Susan is a
teacher, writer, photographer, and gymnastics coach.
She is currently employed by the Insight School of Kansas.
She is active in
community service, 4-H, and church projects. She
currently serves on the Executive Board of Directors for the
Decatur County Extension Service, and on the local Board of
Directors for Sunflower Cinema. Susan enjoys
gardening, reading, and scrapbooking.
Susan graduated
from Fort Hays State University with Summa Cum Laude honors.
She is extremely committed to the promotion of agriculture.
Her favorite quote is "bloom where you are planted."
Board Advisor:
Helen Norris (Serves as Chair)
Staff Liaisons:
Holly Higgins - Director
Serita Blankenship - Program Assistant
Women's Committee
Guide to Programs
Letter from the Chair
Committee Overview
2010 Planning Calendar
An Off-the-Farm Job and the Farm Bureau Women's Committee
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