Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 114, No. 50	December 12, 2007

Meade County farmer performs ably during state competition

By LARRY SEE JR.
Messenger Staff

Whitney Elizabeth Pack missed school last Thursday, but for an excellent reason.

Pack represented District Three in the Kentucky Farm Bureau outstanding Farm Bureau Youth Contest.

The event was part of the 88th annual meeting of the state farm organization, which concluded Saturday at the Galt House in Louisville.

“We recognize that the youth are the future of our state and we’ll do everything we can to promote that,” state President Marshall Coyle said. He also applauded the fact there were several outstanding young farmers participating in the event, adding it helped Farm Bureau to showcase the youth of Kentucky.

Although Pack didn’t win the competition, she did establish two “firsts” during the event.

She was the first candidate to address the audience from a modern podium, instead of the lone microphone in the center of the stage, and she also was the first one to relate her experiences during a summer youth leadership event, dubbed “IFAL,” or Institute for Future Ag Leaders.

This is a five-day summer leadership conference, held at the University of Kentucky, that explores different fields of study for careers in agriculture.

“My participation in IFAL helped grow me mentally and as an individual,” Pack said.

Pack, a senior at Meade County High School, said upon arrival at the UK campus, participants had to fill out housing forms, similar to those that they would encounter when registering for the academic year.

“Here I am, a year away from college and reality hit for me,” she said.

She grew mentally, when, afraid of heights, she had to climb 100 feet up a tree, walk across an open space with nothing but a harness steadying her and then descend on the other side on a piece of specially-designed rope.

“It (the program) challenged me to face my fears,” she said.

Pack is also involved as her class vice president, in the Meade County Future Farmers of America chapter and her church youth group.

Participants must be at least 15 years old, but not have reached their 19th birthday by Jan. 1.

Other guidelines include:

• They must be a member of the Kentucky Farm Bureau and represent the county in which their parents or guardians have their membership.

• They must submit an application, along with a certified copy of their school grades for the past two years, to the women’s chair of their county Farm Bureau.

• They must represent the county at the fall district competition.

• They must represent the state at the annual Farm Bureau conference, if selected as a district finalist.

Contestants competed in two areas of competition, a personal interview with the three judges and a two-minute prepared speech on any topic related to agriculture or Farm Bureau. Each competition was weighted evenly, Farm Bureau women’s advisory committee first vice chair Frieda Heath said.

Each contestant was judged by three people who had backgrounds in youth work and/or agriculture, Heath said.

At the county level, winners received prizes in varying amounts, while a $75 award was given to district winners, based on the assurance they would compete at the state event.

Each state finalist received a 26” wheeled duffel bag, with the overall male and female winners earning a $2,000 scholarship, watch, another luggage piece and a trip to Washington, D.C., for the Congressional tour.

Runners-up received a digital camera and $200 cash and the congeniality winners received $100 cash. The latter were chosen by state finalists.

“We need to express our congratulations to each one of these people,” Heath said. “I think we would all agree they would be very excellent spokespeople for Farm Bureau and agriculture.”

Her comments were echoed by Coyle when he said he thought it was great to have this crop of students in the background, especially when it came time for new Farm Bureau leadership.

Hardin County representative Alex Merideth, who spoke on biotechnology. received the runner-up award.

Winning were Kelsey Watson and Aaron Harned. Watson addressed farm safety issues and stressed the fact information should be provided in English and Spanish, while Harned discussed urban sprawl and its effects.

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