For all of you folks who rely on our First Friday brand to remind you when to show up for our monthly First Friday Power Breakfast, you need to reset your calendar this month. Our usual First Friday program will be on the Second Friday this month, November 14th, because November is Farm City month.
Celebrating Agriculture in Jackson County during the month of November with a big Farm City Day event is a tradition that goes back 35 years. This will be the second year in which the event is being held as a breakfast program in conjunction with the Chamber’s monthly breakfast series.
This year’s exciting Farm City Day Breakfast will be held on Friday, November 14th, the second Friday in November, from 7:00am – 9:00am at the Agricultural Conference Center on Penn Avenue. Our Corporate Sponsor this year is East Coast Ethanol, and our sustaining community sponsors are the Jackson County Board of County Commissioners, the City of Marianna, the communities of Graceville, Cottondale, Grand Ridge, and Sneads, and of course, the Florida Farm Bureau.
Farmers and their families, business leaders, community leaders, elected officials, and all citizens interested in agriculture are invited to attend.
Ed Jowers, long time Extension Agent for Jackson County who is retiring this year, will present the annual awards for excellence in agriculture, including Outstanding Farm Family, Cattleman of the Year, Conservationist of the year, Tree Farmer of the Year, Peanut Farmer of the year, Cotton Farmer of the year, Quality Hay Producer of the year, and High Yield Corn Producer.
Also, we have an extra special speaker for our program this year, Jackson County’s own Ms. Carly Barnes, who is currently serving as Area 1 State Vice President of the Florida FFA. Carly’s presentation will be titled Growing Toward the Future. She will be discussing the changing face of Agriculture and how those changes affect Jackson County.
Carly herself represents an aspect of the changing face of Agriculture. A 2008 simultaneous graduate of both Malone High School and Chipola College, Carly has a long history of involvement in agriculture through FAA. She is investing this year serving as a statewide officer for FFA, and plans to continue her education next year in preparation for a career in agriculture.
In order to help more young people like Carly secure an education and help preserve the legacy of our agricultural heritage, the Farm City Day Organizing Committee launched a scholarship fund last year to provide assistance to students interested in agricultural related studies. Over $5,000 was raised last year, and more funds are being raised this year to provide long term funding for this endeavor. We will be introducing the 2008 recipient of the first Farm City Day Scholarship at this year’s Farm City Day Breakfast.
Because this will be our last chance to recognize Ed Jowers at a Farm City Day event before he retires, we will honor our friend Ed, who has been a vital part of Farm City Day activities for over 30 years, with a special token of our appreciation. We will also hear a few memorable "Ed Jowers" stories from those who know him the best. We aren’t sure yet, but we might even allow Ed a final turn at the microphone for a closing rebuttal. You’ll just have to join us for the 2008 edition of our Farm City Day Breakfast on Friday November 14th to experience this memorable event and find out what Ed and others may have to say.
Mark your calendar Right now, and join us Friday Morning, Nov 14th at 7:00am for Farm City Day Breakfast.
Russ House Endowment
In other news, we are pleased to announce that our First Ever Fund Raiser to launch the Russ House Endowment Fund was a great success. Approximately 75 people attended the Art Auction and Wine Tasting last Thursday evening, and it generated over $2,000 in net proceeds.
Special thanks go to guest pianist Anita Pizza for setting the mood with exceptional jazz and pop classics, to The Artist Guild of NW Florida for the generous donation of Artwork for the auction, to Mary Pettis, our VP of Operations and Michele Kimbrough, president of the Artists Guild of NW Florida for your time and talent organizing and setting up the event, to Tommy Lassmann, 2008 Chairman of the Chamber Board who led the charge to create this event, and to all the friends of the Russ House and the Chamber who participated and eagerly supported our cause.
This program has now been successfully launched, and efforts will continue as we work toward the goal of establishing a fund that will maintain the Russ House in perpetuity.
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