Barbour, Milsap Headline Federation Annual Meeting
Country music star Ronnie Milsap and former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour will provide a combination of entertainment and politics for Alabama Farmers Federation members attending the organization’s 93rd annual meeting in Montgomery Dec. 7-8.
Alabama Farmers Federation and Alfa Insurance President Jimmy Parnell will kick off the meeting Sunday, Dec. 7, at 4 p.m. with the first general session, which includes his annual report to members and presentation of the Service to Agriculture Award, the Federation’s highest honor. All conference meetings will be held in the Montgomery Convention Center or the Montgomery Performing Arts Centre (MPAC).
Grammy-award winning country music star Ronnie Milsap will take the MPAC stage Sunday evening at 7:30 p.m. Concert tickets are required for admission.
Monday, Dec. 8, is full of meetings, contests, awards programs and elections. Among the highlights will be the Ag Foundation Breakfast, a silent auction and Young Farmers’ contests.
The morning general session features the presentation of the Communications Award for excellent coverage of agricultural events and awards for outstanding individuals, leaders and county Federations.
Breakout sessions that morning will include policy discussions, the American Farm Bureau Federation update and a Farm Bill panel. Later that day, 500 voting delegates will meet to consider policy recommendations and elect district directors and officers to the state board.
The closing session will feature Barbour as the keynote speaker. While serving as governor, he gained national attention in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit his state.
Winners in the Federation’s Young Farmer contests will be announced at the closing session. The winner of this year’s Outstanding Young Farm Family contest will haul home prizes valued at more than $60,000, including a 2015 Chevrolet or GM model truck valued at $35,000 courtesy of Alfa Insurance. Other prizes for the 2014 OYFF include a John Deere Gator courtesy of Alabama Farm Credit and Alabama Ag Credit; and the lease of a John Deere tractor courtesy of SunSouth, TriGreen and Snead Ag dealers. Winners in Discussion Meet and Excellence in Ag also will be recognized. Winners in all three contests will represent Alabama in national competitions at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) annual convention in San Diego in January.
For a link to convention details and a full agenda, visit AlfaFarmers.org.