Member LoginKelly Lewis
Farm Bureau honors Lapeer County member for service, dedication
Lapeer County farmer Kelly Lewis has been named Michigan Farm Bureau's Volunteer of the Month for February 2010, in recognition of her trailblazing efforts to raise the profile of local agriculture and increase the general public's understanding of it.
In her first year leading Lapeer County Farm Bureau's Promotion and Education efforts, Lewis has been an outstanding advocate for local farmers. Currently she is focused on an event called "Farmology," to take place March 18. Similar to the organization's well-known Project RED (Rural Education Day) events for children, Farmology will instead seek to inform an adult audience about how modern farming works.
Farmology will take place at Lapeer's Center Building, former home of the county's 4-H program. The event's timing coincides with one of the Center Building's quarterly fundraising dinners, which will also emphasize local agriculture. With Lewis' input, Center Building representatives agreed to make their March 18 event a "100-mile meal" -- meaning that all the food served will have been produced within 100 miles of the location.
Concurrently, Farmology sessions will take place in an adjacent room, and will include informational demonstrations and seminars, a combine simulator and a "farmer over the fence" area, where attendees can ask questions of local farmers about their operations and practices.
"The main objective is to bring the local consumers together with local farmers and educate the community about agriculture's role in the county's economy and food production," wrote her nominator for Volunteer of the Month honors.
To that end, Lewis has organized speakers and volunteers, planned promotional materials, coordinated with other agriculture organizations and reached out to non-traditional producers who have not previously been included in outreach activities.
"Kelly is a breath of fresh air," her nominator wrote. "She's brought new ideas and a new way of thinking to the board of directors, and delegated responsibilities to other committee members, allowing more of our volunteers to take ownership in our activities."
Lewis and her husband operate a wholesale perennial greenhouse in North Branch. She also raises chickens and rents crop land to a local farmer. The couple has two sons, Duncan and Ryan.
