By Julie Tomascik
Editor
Inspiring and involving the next generation of agricultural leaders is one of Anderson County Farm Bureau’s goals.
To help achieve that goal, the county leaders created an internship opportunity for a high school student to serve as a youth ambassador for the county organization.
A subcommittee developed objectives and prerequisites for the internship. Requirements to be the youth ambassador included previously attending TFB’s Youth Leadership Conference or Student Success Series and participating in the Free Enterprise Speech Contest.
“Youth are our future of Anderson County, of Texas and of Farm Bureau. We wanted a way to get more young people involved with us at the local level, and we thought this internship program would be a great place to start,” Anderson County Farm Bureau President Ted Britton said. “Involving them in what we do as a board of directors, as a county organization and as community leaders helps them better understand the impact they can have when they step into leadership roles like this.”
Involving students also teaches them more about Farm Bureau’s mission to promote agriculture and about production agriculture in the area, Britton said.
“Through programming efforts, planning meetings, policy discussions and attending monthly meetings, our youth ambassador saw firsthand exactly how Texas Farm Bureau and Anderson County Farm Bureau represent Texas agriculture,” Britton said. “This internship program also exposes youth to farmers and ranchers in the area, so they can learn more about production agriculture.”
The youth ambassador attended events, serving as a photographer and documenting activities Anderson County Farm Bureau was involved in throughout the year. The youth ambassador also gave presentations and assisted with other county activities.
As part of the internship program, the youth ambassador delivered monthly reports, served as an active member of the county’s Young Farmer & Rancher Committee and attended district, state and national meetings.
At the end of the internship, the youth ambassador presented a report to the board highlighting experiences and the knowledge gained about agriculture and Farm Bureau.