You herd right, Class III of VALOR has begun and I am honored to be one of 13 participants. VALOR is a two-year program for those in agriculture who want to develop their communication, problem solving, and critical thinking skills in addition to broadening their knowledge of agriculture in the pursuit of becoming an advocate… Continue reading Around the water cooler…
Service has always been a part of my life. My family has always set an example for me of the importance to serve others beyond yourself. Sometimes this comes as sacrifice, but at the end of the day the lasting legacy of service will live beyond your years. I feel that growing up in a… Continue reading Why I Serve
Virginia, roughly shaped like a triangle (per my fantastic drawing above), is home to two distinct population curves. The more common one, called the Golden Crescent, is home to approximately 6.1 million people, and if it were a state, it would be second in the nation for college degrees, wealth, etc. It stretches from the… Continue reading I Expect MORE
How encouraging to see so many flourishing enterprises in Central Virginia. And how enjoyable to get first hand experiences with some of them during our March VALOR seminar. We visited Madison Wood Preservers, Senterfitt Farms, and Step-at-a-Time Farm, - all thriving local ag-based businesses. And we learned about Crisis Communications from both Corrine Geller,… Continue reading Eat, Drink, and be Married
My brain keeps telling me to post recaps of Vietnam, while simultaneously screaming at me to close my eyes and go to bed. Who knew that jet lag created multiple personalities? Mark that one down on the books. The purpose of our trip to Vietnam was to specifically look at culture, history, and of course… Continue reading If Christmas can have 12 days, so can Vietnam
Leaving your county, or state, or country (as the case will be shortly for the VALOR fellows) imparts a gift of perspective. Not a gift to be taken lightly, it takes processing and production by the user in order to create anything of value. I can travel to another state or country, but if I… Continue reading The Gift
VALOR recently visited the overflowing beauty in the mountainous area of Southwest Virginia, a group of counties long known for their devotion to coal industry, strong culture, and lilting accents. Little towns tucked in among steeply covered tree-filled slopes look calm and complacent from the winding road in - but minutes away on main street, empty storefront… Continue reading The Soul of the Matter
Our VALOR trip to Washington, DC in May has had me thinking a lot about distances. Of course the obvious one - how relatively close DC is to my home, but how long and awful driving into and out of there can be. But also how fortunate we on the East Coast are to have… Continue reading Distances
What is Agriculture? It seems like a simple question. This was one of the questions that I was asked in my interview to join the Valor II group. I have worked and lived in the agriculture all of my life and yet I found it exceedingly difficult to answer such a simple question that I… Continue reading What is Agriculture?
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