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Ohioans were at home in Tampa during last January’s American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting. OFBF was honored as having received 12 Gold Stars for excellence in programs and once again won the prestigious AFBF President's Award as the top state Farm Bureau in its membership size category.

This is the fourth year in a row and 10 of the past 12 years that Ohio has won AFBF’s highest honor for a state Farm Bureau.

OFBF President Terry McClure accepted the President’s Award. "This is a reflection of the tremendous work done by our volunteers and staff. We've always felt Ohio Farm Bureau was an outstanding organization and this award confirms that," McClure said.

Other Ohioans were honored through their participation in Young Farmer and Rancher programs, the county program exchange, and the research exchange.

OFBF was also named a leader state by the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. To qualify for the state Leader Award, each member of a state Farm Bureau board of directors donates as least $50 to the foundation.

Retired OFBF Executive Vice President C. William Swank accepted the highest individual honor given by AFBF – the Distinguished Service Award. In accepting the award, Swank told the nearly 5,000 attending that his relationships with others are what he’s valued most as he looks back over his life.

"The people I’ve met throughout my involvement in Ohio agriculture have made my life what it is today," he said. He credited his wife, Helen, with grounding him and keeping him focused.