By Allie Cushnyr, Chair, Kern County Young Farmers & Ranchers
I would like to congratulate our newly elected 2022 Kern County Young Farmers & Ranchers team who will be leading the way next year. The new Chair will be Tim Collins, Vice Chair is Katie Verhoef, Secretary is Emily Lopez, Treasurer is Amy Mebane, Activities Coordinator is Kelley Higgins, and Social Media Coordinator is Christine Johnston. As I step down from Chair, I will stay on as Past Chair in 2022 to help with the transition and provide any assistance they may need. I am confident that this group will do a great job and many of them are already brainstorming about future meetings, socials, and opportunities to give back to the community. If you are trying to figure out how to get more involved in the ag community, this group is the ticket.
My own YF&R journey began in 2015 when I helped at the 1st Annual Charity Farmer’s Market. I loved the community of young people in ag getting together for behind-the-scenes tours of local facilities and listening to speakers from different areas of the industry. In November of 2016 I was elected as the Secretary which was a role I held for 2 years. My goal as Secretary was to provide members with emails that would give them the time necessary to plan to attend meetings. We began using a platform to streamline our emails, set up an email template, and manage the contact list, which also made it easy for members to subscribe or unsubscribe. My time as Secretary was followed by 2 years in the Vice Chair role where you do pretty much anything and everything the group needs. I loved being able to lead this group in 2021 as the Chair, where we transitioned back from virtual meetings to in person meetings. The 1st Annual Clay Shoot was established in 2021, the Annual Charity Farmer’s Market showed back up at Farm Credit West, and we were able to support Kern County Farm Bureau events throughout the year too. Socials brought people together in 2021, and we look forward to finishing out the year with one last event in December.
We hope to see our Kern County Young Farmers & Ranchers at our Christmas Party on December 11th at Firehouse on White Lane! Dinner, dessert, pool tables, bowling, an ugly sweater contest, and a gift exchange are just a few things to look forward to. We ask that if you would like to be a part of the gift exchange, please bring a wrapped gift with you that is around $25. Also, a prize will be given to the best ugly sweater worn to the party. We do ask that anyone who plans to attend, please RSVP to Kern YF&R by December 3rd via email at KernYFR@KernCFB.com.
As always, I want to share that being a part of the Kern County Young Farmers and Ranchers group comes at no cost, and we welcome everyone between 18-35 years old. This is a great group to be a part of to give back to the community, network with other professionals, and have a good time with friends. If you would like to jump on our email list to receive information about upcoming events, please reach out to us. We are also active on both Facebook and Instagram.
Email: KernYFR@KernCFB.com
Instagram: @KernYFR
Facebook: KernYoungFarmersAndRanchers
