Kirsten Ameling, Luckey Farmers’ Communications and Marketing Specialist, was nominated by the Sandusky County Farm Bureau to attend the 2019 Washington D.C. Leadership Experience.
The Washington D.C. Leadership experience is an opportunity for young professionals in agriculture to learn about issues that affect farmers on a national level. It is a three-day trip that exposes young ag professionals to the important topics that Farm Bureau members are engaged in.
The first day consisted of networking with fellow young ag professionals and learning more about agricultural issues from staff members from the American Farm Bureau. The issues covered included farm economy, trade, rural broadband/infrastructure and ag labor/immigration.
The second day was spent learning about mental health in ag with a visit from the Office of National Drug Control Policy and learning about global ag demands. During this time, Kirsten had the opportunity to tour both the American Farm Bureau Federation office and the Ireland Embassy.
The third day was filled with more learning opportunities and how the 2020 election will impact agriculture. There, she had the privilege to meet with one of Congressmen Bob Lattas staff members to discuss agricultural issues in Northwest Ohio and visit with members from the Senate Ag Committee.
In addition to the learning experiences she also had an opportunity to visit the Arlington National Cemetery, the Monuments and tour the Capitol Building. While at Arlington she was able to witness the changing of the guard.
Forty-four young professionals from Ohio attended the leadership conference. We are proud that Kirsten was given this exclusive opportunity to harness the information coming out of Washing D.C. and affect change in our local area, specifically on behalf of Luckey Farmers and its members and customers.
The trip taught her the importance of the Farm Bureau at the county, state and national level.
