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Ring up more sales when you advertise to more than 111,000 local readers in e Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman. IN PRINT & ONLINE • 800.798.2691 • www.farm2ranch.com Advertising at Works as Hard as You Do e Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman Local News & Advertising Attract more than 111,000 local readers! • Print Advertising • Campaigns • Web & Mobile Ads Talk to a Sales Rep Today! 800.798.2691 2 | FEBRUARY 6, 2019 | IOWA FARM BUREAU SPOKESMAN CERRO GORDO Page Editor: Sarah Tweeten • [email protected] 2650 Skyview Lane • Mason City, IA 50401 • p. [641] 423-5824 Clear Creek fourth-graders enjoyed bartering with their classmates to get the most balanced meal for their team. The students learned about differ- ent school lunches around the world and what factors influence what types of food are available. CLEAR CREEK ELEMENTARY AG WEEK HELD Calendar Tuesday, noon Ads and articles for Spokesman due. Feb. 18-22 Jefferson Elementary Ag Week. Tuesday, Feb. 19 Grab and Give event. Thursday, Feb. 21 Cerro Gordo County Farm Bureau February board meeting. Friday, March 1 Scholarship applications due to the Cerro Gordo County Farm Bureau office. Wednesday, March 20 Ag Breakfast. TEAMS STILL NEEDED FOR UPCOMING GRAB AND GIVE EVENT The Cerro Gordo County Farm Bureau will be sponsoring the Grab and Give grocery event again this year to benefit the Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank. On Tuesday, Feb. 19, at Hy-Vee West in Mason City, teams of three from local businesses will gather with decorated grocery carts, matching shirts promoting their companies, and enthusiasm to see who can gather groceries totaling the closest to $250 in only five min- utes! All groceries collected will be given to the Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank in Mason City. At this time of year, the Hawk - eye Harvest Food Bank struggles with donations, so this event is very much appreciated by the communi - ty. It is a great way for Farm Bureau to help those who may have fallen on hard times. This event is celebrating its sixth year. In the first year, the event had just seven teams. The event has gained popularity over the years with 28 teams participating last year. The goal this year is to have 35 teams participate. Those interested in forming a team may contact the Cerro Gordo County Farm Bureau office at 641-423-5824. The only cost to participate in this event is the gro- ceries that the team collects. FB BOARD MEETS JAN. 10 The Cerro Gordo County Farm Bureau met on Thursday, Jan. 10. The meeting was called to order by President Eric Arthur at 7:02 p.m. It was moved and seconded to waive the reading of the minutes. Motion passed. Treasurer Joe Mc- Grath gave the treasurer’s report. It was moved, seconded and passed to approve the checks and accept the report as given. Regional Manager Trae Hestness gave the Insurance Agency Report, reminding the board that agent Mike Coborn will be retiring Feb. 1 after working for Farm Bureau for 40 years. Fellow agent Trent Adams is set to take over his book of business and has already started assisting many of Mike’s clients. A State Board Update was given by Andy Hill and Kevin Pope. The Farm Bureau headquarters is go- ing through a remodel. The Fed- eration is in temporary housing until mid-summer. Many vacant positions at the home office (due to retirements) have been filled. Old business was next discussed, with the sign-up for the 2019 committees being filled in where there were still vacant positions. New business included electing a delegate for the 2019 National Poli- cy Trip. Vice President Jim Barkema was elected as the Cerro Gordo del- egate for the trip. A date was set for the annual meeting. It was moved to set the date for the Cerro Gor- do County Farm Bureau’s annual meeting for Thursday, June 27. Mo- tion was seconded and passed. Membership drive was discussed next. Joe McGrath was nominated to serve as the membership drive chair again this year. The membership drive goal is 1,640 members and the drive will roll out in February. Trae walked the board through the 2019 budget and building depart - ment budget. It was moved, second- ed and passed to approve the 2019 budget as read. Building goals were discussed next. The office has been decorated with the items from the old office; however, some additional items will need to be purchased to finish decorating the board room. The board would like to see a Farm Bureau logo go up next to the sliding barn door at the front of the office. It was moved, seconded and passed to approve the dates for the Grab and Give event and the Ag Fair. The Grab and Give event will be Tuesday, Feb. 19. The Ag Fair will be on Wednesday, March 27. Board updates were given next. Trae gave a brief update on the local membership benefits, noting some potential businesses that may be in- terested in participating. Kevin gave a brief update on DOT/ drainage issues. He recently attend- ed a city council meeting where Ma- son City flooding issues were dis- cussed. An update on the FFA status was given. A new ag teacher has been hired to start up the ag pro- gram at the start of the 2019-2020 school year. Jim gave a report on the North Iowa Events Center. They are now in the slower part of the season; however, there is an upcoming pool tournament and still several wed- ding receptions. The North Iowa Fair was recently selected to be the Blue Ribbon Fair this year. Trae gave the regional manager update, not - ing that he has been working with the home office to update the vid- eo with the Iowa DOT for the farm safety course the county has been doing with the Driver’s Ed program. He also informed the board that the Ag Gag law was taken down, making it legal for employees to film farms without the operator’s knowledge. Trae also reminded the board of the upcoming legislative forum with Upmeyer and Ragan that will take place in Hampton on Jan. 25. He is also working on setting a date for the board to meet with the County Supervisors. It was moved, second- ed and passed to adjourn the meet - ing. Meeting adjourned at 9:08 p.m. Clear Creek Elementary School in Clear Creek held its annual Ag Week Jan. 21-25. Clear Creek fourth-graders en- joyed their ag lesson, learning what school lunches in different countries look like. Each student was given a book with pictures of school lunch- es across the world and asked to pick their favorite and least favorite lunch. While discussing the favor- ites and least favorites, the students were surprised to learn that some of their least favorite lunches were served as school lunches because they contained foods that were able to be grown in the country. Often times, these same countries could not afford to import many other foods for the government school lunch programs. To illustrate the importance of trade in the food system, students were divided into teams of two or three and each given either a purple or pink plastic bag. Each bag con- tained one food item and $2 of play money. The goal was to be the team to acquire the most balanced diet by the end of the time limit. Those holding purple bags could only trade with those holding pink bags and vice versa. The students really enjoyed the bartering game, realizing the im- portance of team work, critical thinking and creativity. They also learned how important strong trade relations are when it comes to agri- culture. North Central Iowa Ag in the Classroom instructors Leah Rein- ert, Angie Johnson, Julie Tweet- en and Sarah Tweeten delivered lessons to classrooms of kinder- garteners through fifth-graders throughout the week. MCGRATH NAMED MEMBERSHIP DRIVE CHAIRMAN Cerro Gordo County Farm Bu- reau board member Joe McGrath has been named this year’s mem- bership drive campaign chairman. McGrath led the county’s member - ship drive last year and was recent - ly recognized for his efforts at the Iowa Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in Des Moines. He was recognized as the third membership topper in the state, having recruited 15 new members. McGrath will kick off this year’s membership drive at the Farm Bu- reau board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 21. The county’s goal is 1,640 members and needs to be reached by March 31. Currently, the coun- ty has 1,394 members with 114 of those being new. This is 85 percent of the goal. During the kickoff, lists of names will be passed out for board members to contact about joining the Farm Bureau organization or re- newing their current membership. If anyone know of someone who might be interested in joining the county Farm Bureau, please contact the office at 641-423-5824. Some- one will be glad to visit with them.
