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Five Farm Bureau staffers exchanged information about growing membership last month at a forum attended by membership experts from six Farm Bureaus.

The Farm Bureau Membership Best Practices Forum, sponsored by Nationwide Insurance, featured ideas on sustaining membership growth from those responsible for doing so at Farm Bureaus in Ohio, California, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Each of the six Farm Bureaus has sponsor or endorser relationships with Nationwide aimed at mutual support.

"This was a useful way for us to interact with our counterparts at other Farm Bureaus on how we structure our membership campaigns and how we work with Nationwide agents to attain new members," said Jeff Watkins, OFBF vice president of field services. "It was especially useful to share ideas about building good relations with local Nationwide agents, who produced more than 25,000 new memberships for us last year."

"Member growth is important to Nationwide just as it is to Farm Bureau," said Rich Viertel, Nationwide’s director of sponsor marketing. "When a Nationwide customer becomes a Farm Bureau member, everyone wins – especially the customer."

Caption: Farm Bureau and Nationwide Pursue Best Practices: Pictured from left are OFBF Director of Membership Activities Mike Fearon, Nationwide’s Jim Hagenbucher, OFBF Director of Member Services Dan Rapp, Pioneer Region Supervisor Melissa Jacobs, OFBF Director of Field Staff Development Angela Robertson, OFBF Vice President of Field Services Jeff Watkins and Rich Viertel of Nationwide. They met last month in Columbus to share ideas with staff leaders of other Farm Bureaus about how to sustain membership growth by working with Nationwide Insurance.