CHICAGO — The outstanding efforts of young Illinois farmers and leaders were recognized during the Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) Annual Meeting, Dec. 4-7, at the Palmer House in Chicago.
The 2021 County Young Leader Awards program highlighted the hard work and dedication of Young Leaders and county Farm Bureaus (CFB) across the state, including community projects and member engagement efforts.
A complete list of recipients – along with a brief description of each award – can be found below. For awards recognizing a CFB in each membership group, sections are broken down by membership size, with Group 1 being the smallest and Group 5 being the largest.
- County Activities of Excellence – Young Leader Program: These awards honor CFBs’ grassroots efforts in the area of Young Leader and Young Farmer programs, including work with Harvest for All, developing agriculture leaders, recruitment and Farm Bureau Agricultural Contact Team (FB ACT) incentives. One CFB in each membership group is selected as the winner:
- Membership Group 1: Hamilton County, Tractor Pull & Fun Night at the Fair
- Membership Group 2: Richland County, Ag Beyond the Classroom Bicycle Safety Night
- Membership Group 3: Pike-Scott, Ground Pork Distribution During COVID-19 Meat Shortage
- Membership Group 4: Cass-Morgan, Give Your Garden
- Membership Group 5: Cook County, Virtual Young Leader Exchange
- Top County Young Leader Chair Award: This award recognizes county chairs that excel in Farm Bureau involvement and leadership, as well as motivating fellow county committee members to become involved in county, district and state activities. Winners in each membership group receive onstage recognition, a plaque and an expense-paid trip to attend the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 2022 Young Farmers and Ranchers Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
- Membership Group 1: Katelin Stratmeyer, Massac County
- Membership Group 2: Craig Koors, White County
- Membership Group 3: Jeff Grady, Knox County
- Membership Group 4: Jonathan Griffel, Macoupin County
- Membership Group 5: Carolyn Gehrke Brummel, Kane County
- Friend of Young Leaders Winners: This award gives county Young Leader committees the opportunity to nominate someone who has had a positive impact on their programs. Winners receive onstage recognition, a plaque and a cash prize. Recipients include:
- Paul Beisiegel, St. Clair CFB President
- David Isermann, LaSalle CFB President
- Dennis Verbeck, Henry CFB President
- Top Young Leader Membership Recruiter: This award recognizes the top Young Leader membership recruiter for energy spent cultivating new memberships. The 2021 recipient received a $300 cash prize. This year’s award went to:
- Kody Aldrich, Lawrence County
- Young Leader FB ACT Winner: The FB ACT asks members to respond to legislative action requests on timely issues. Young Leaders who responded to all action requests this past year were entered into a drawing to win an expense-paid trip to the IFB Governmental Affairs Leadership Conference or Leaders to Washington, D.C trip. This year’s recipient is:
- Jake Armstrong, Warren-Henderson
“This recognition program shows only a fraction of all that our Young Leaders do to support their communities,” said IFB Member Engagement Manager Jenny Webb. “It’s a great opportunity to come together to show our appreciation for all that they do throughout the year and hopefully spark new ideas for others to execute in the future.”
The Illinois Farm Bureau is a member of the American Farm Bureau Federation, a national organization of farmers and ranchers. Founded in 1916, IFB is a non-profit, membership organization directed by farmers who join through their county Farm Bureau. IFB has a total membership of more than 372,326 and a voting membership of 77,462. IFB represents three out of four Illinois farmers.
— Illinois Farm Bureau