Adams graduates from Ohio Farm Bureau’s leadership program

Blake Adams of Leesburg recently graduated from Ohio Farm Bureau’s AgriPOWER Class XIV. The elite leadership program was started in 2008 to help agricultural advocates gain influence over public policy issues that impact their businesses and communities.

Adams grew up in the agriculture industry on a grain and cattle farm. This led her to pursue a degree in agribusiness and applied economics at Ohio State University. She is now a centralization accounting specialist for United Producers, Inc. where she works with salespeople residing in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Tennessee.

In her free time, Adams still assists her father on the family farm and serves on the Highland County Farm Bureau Board of Trustees and the Highland County 4-H Committee.

Class XIV graduates also included Jenna Brown of Utica, Deirdre Christy of Carey, Heather Coen of New Concord, Cristen Cramer of Woodville, Mia Grimes of Saint Paris, Hattie Hartschuh of Nevada, Lisa Holding of London, Olivia Krumwiede of Wakeman, Alicia McCracken of Beach City, Brianna Smith of Shelby, Shaeley Swick of Utica, Mary Wilhelm of New Bavaria and Cora Willeke of Marengo.

Over the course of a year, Class XIV participants learned from experts on how to become better leaders and advocates for the agricultural industry, including spokesperson and media training, social networking and communications. They learned about public policy matters important to their local communities, as well as the state, nation and world. They visited Washington, D.C. where they learned about national and global issues, and they visited diverse agricultural operations in Washington state so they could better understand the differences and similarities in agriculture from state to state.

Partnering with Ohio Farm Bureau on AgriPOWER Class XIV are Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation, Ohio Soybean Council, Farm Credit Mid-America, AgCredit, Legacy Farmers Cooperative, Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association, Certified Angus Beef, Stark County Farm Bureau, PBS Animal Health and United Producers, Inc.

To learn more about AgriPOWER, visit ohiofarmbureau.org/agripower.

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