President's Column: A positive start to 2021, virtually
While Debbie and I have enjoyed another Holiday season with our children and grand-children, there is also much to be thankful for within our ‘Farm Bureau Family’ and we want to celebrate with you!
All of the trials of this pandemic are remind-ing all of us the value of friends and family. That, and the other challenges and adjustments of 2020 are spilling over into 2021 as we continue to shift long time gatherings of our Farm Bureau members to virtual formats. As I write, we are conduct-ing the American Farm Bureau (AFBF) Annual Convention for the 102nd time a little different – virtually from home.
The highlight of this year’s AFBF Conven-tion for me is the honor given to my longtime friend, and Farm Bureau Presidential predeces-sor – Ronnie Anderson. Ronnie has received the AFBF Founder’s Award, which was established in January 2017 to recognize exemplary leadership, service or contributions to Farm Bureau by officers or employees of AFBF and state Farm Bureau organizations. Congrats Ronnie!
While his acceptance speech was seen through video this year, Ronnie continued to do what he always does – give credit back to our member-ship for their support and involvement. No matter where the credit falls, there are so many accom-plishments for our organization in Ronnie’s 31 years at the helm that I can’t even begin to list them here.
Ronnie Anderson also knew how to take an opportunity to be heard and turn things back to the needs of our members. That is something I’m also working to do as Louisiana Farm Bureau’s President.
As an organization, we are fighting to better your access to quality internet. The restrictions of COVID-19 highlight our dependency (or lack of access) on the internet, making the gaps in service even more evident. While attending a meeting virtually may not be a necessity, many daily occur-rences that depend on usable internet are.
Even if you aren’t attending meetings on-line like I am, your child or grandchild is likely being asked to do their schoolwork online. Many local businesses need broadband access to connect you to local goods and services that keep our small-town economies viable. What about our farm equipment? If we are to continue implementing technologies that make us better farmers, we need access to the web.
No matter your occupation or virtual meeting participation, rural broadband has risen to be a top priority for many of our members. Thankfully, this is a top priority issue on the national farm level. Please join us in voicing these needs with us to our elected officials.
While I try to enter 2021 with a positive focus of awards and moving forward working on issues – there is one tragic moment of 2020 that needs mentioning.
On December 29th, my future Congressman and present friend, Luke Letlow, had his life cut short far too soon. While we all mourn the loss of his leadership for our state, Debbie and I continue to send our thoughts are prayers to his wife Julia and their family for the loss of a great husband, father, son and friend. Luke is certainly missed.