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by Susie Taylor

Thanks to the hard work of many dedicated volunteers, the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation has achieved membership gain for the 37th consecutive year reaching an all-time high of 217,871 members.

"In traditional Farm Bureau style, the volunteers stepped forward and got the job done," said Mike Fearon, OFBF director of member services. He also credited Nationwide agents and Farm Bureau staff for working toward the organization’s goal of membership gain.

The number of volunteers attending county kick offs was up over last year – 2,808, nearly 700 more than the 2,127 in 2003. "I think that just shows how supportive our membership volunteers were this year and how hard they were willing to work to get this job done," Fearon said.

He added that a special statewide workday, Feb. 9, helped membership numbers as well, with 359 volunteers signing 347 members on that day alone.

This year’s campaign was completed about ?? weeks earlier than last year, "which really helps us got on with the business of Farm Bureau, and that’s working with our members to develop a partnership between farmers and consumers in Ohio," Fearon said.

He added that without Nationwide’s support, the annual membership campaign would be difficult. "We can’t say enough about the support we get from agents throughout Ohio. They really understand the importance of wrapping up this annual campaign as quickly as possible," he said.

OFBF’s official membership total won’t be finalized for several weeks as individual counties work to reach their own membership goals.

"We’re hoping we’ll be able to report every county member and farmer gain within the next few weeks," Fearon said.

Fifty-five counties qualified for their chairmen to participate in a special trip for achieving gain or farmer gain by March 1. Those chairmen traveled to Pittsburgh for a weekend away from the farm. In addition to a special awards ceremony, the chairmen visited an aviary, the Heinz Museum and enjoyed dinner on a riverboat cruise.

Top regional new member signers have been honored as well. In the River Valley Region, Cari Waymire of Clark County signed 28 new members; Sandi Lang of Scioto County signed 28; and Jake and Juanita Forshey of Jackson/Vinton County signed 24. In the Buckeye Region, Alice Davis of Auglaize County signed 25 new members; Carl Miller of Seneca County signed 14; and tied for third place, Eddie Lou Meimer of Morrow County and Earl Gerdeman of Van Wert County each signed13 members. In the Pioneer Region, Herb and Margaret Eglie of Columbiana County signed 40 new members; Lloyd Mumaw of Wayne County signed 30; and Alan Anderson of Mahoning County signed 23.