KEY POINTS
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Acts of service aren’t a foreign concept to Joe Glassmeyer.
The Clermont County Farm Bureau member is in his first year serving as a school board member for Felicity-Franklin Local School District, but has been on the county Farm Bureau board of trustees for 10 years, serving as its president since 2020.
Glassmeyer is a second-generation farmer. He’s always worked alongside his own father, also Joe, on their 515-acre row crop farm in Felicity, Ohio, but also spent 26 years off the farm as an investment advisor until 2019, when he was downsized. He once again followed in his father’s footsteps taking an off-the-farm job as a school bus driver. At the time, he thought he was just filling a gap between stressful corporate positions.
“I already had my CDL (commercial drivers license),” he said. “It didn’t take long for me to decide I really liked driving a school bus.”
It also didn’t take long for the Felicity-Franklin Local School District to make him the transportation supervisor, embarking on a new career.
Yet it was Ohio Farm Bureau’s annual county presidents’ advocacy trip to Washington, D.C. in 2025 that led him to become a candidate for school board. Glassmeyer had dinner with a county Farm Bureau leader from southeast Ohio who also served on his school district’s board of education. He picked his brain about being a part of both, and the idea to serve in that capacity intrigued him.
Upon returning from Washington, D.C., Glassmeyer read in Our Ohio magazine that for the first time in a decade, Ohio Farm Bureau was going to host a Campaign School. The every-other-year, two-day workshop was designed to give potential candidates a solid foundation on topics like strategy, tactics, selecting issues, budgeting, fundraising and identifying voters as they seek elected office.
“I thought reading about that was a sign,” he said. “It was serendipity.”
So, he went all-in. He attended Campaign School, resigned as transportation supervisor with the district and ran for school board. Also serving as a catalyst was his granddaughter, who is not yet 2 years old. Glassmeyer and his wife, Amy, have two grown children.
“I want to make this world a better place for her,” he said. “Strong schools strengthen the community.”
Glassmeyer encouraged those who are thinking of running for any public office to attend a Campaign School-type event to not only learn how to run for office, but even if the work it takes to do so is appealing.
“Either way, it’s a great way to find out what’s involved,” he said.
The next Ohio Farm Bureau Campaign School is planned for 2027.
“We know our members, like Joe, are problem-solvers and often have deep ties to their communities,” said Whittney Bowers, OFBF director of state policy and grassroots engagement. “They have all the tools needed to lead in any elected position, and we want to provide the support they need to see their next path of public service.”
Having spent nearly all his school years in the district himself, Glassmeyer said running for school board was his way of “paying back.” He noted that those who served on school boards before him “gave up their evenings and weekends with their families to make decisions that were in the best interest of students.”
Like many newly elected officials who are driven by a desire to serve, Glassmeyer said he had a very “Mr. Smith goes to Washington” experience when he was elected to serve on the Felicity-Franklin Board of Education in November 2025.
“You want to change the world, but there are five of us together on the board, it’s not just me,” he said, noting that he enjoys working with the school board team. Each brings their own experiences and strengths, he said, stressing the community aspect of public service.
“Joe is the kind of guy you want in your corner. He is committed to his community and supporting the youth. As a Farm Bureau board trustee and county president, he is a strong leader who is always supportive of others’ ideas and ready to help wherever he is needed,” said Heather Boldman, county office administrator for Adams, Brown, Clermont and Highland counties in southwest Ohio. “Most importantly, he is a dedicated family man who speaks highly of his family. Joe is incredibly consistent in all that he does; he doesn’t just talk about community, he lives to serve his neighbors each and every day.”
WHAT’S NEXT
On Aug. 1 and 2, the Ohio Farm Bureau hosted a campaign school for those interested in serving their communities through public service. There are nearly 20,000 elected officials in Ohio, and our Campaign School participants are ready to join those ranks! Thanks to all those who attended our interactive training, along with our special guests Senator Susan Manchester, Representative Christine Teeny Cockley , Cody Lyon of the American Farm Bureau Federation, and Alex Pavloff of the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office.
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