MFB board elections: Wood re-elected president; Larry Walton is new promotion & education representative

GRAND RAPIDS, Dec. 3, 2010 - Sanilac County dairy farmer Wayne H. Wood has been re-elected to serve a sixth two-year term as president of the Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB), the state's largest general farm organization. Joining him on the 17-member board are several returning members and one new face (as pictured here), St. Joseph County farmer Larry Walton, who will serve a one-year term as the promotion and education representative.

The elections occurred Dec. 3 at the conclusion of MFB's 91st Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids. Wood, of Marlette, has served as the MFB president since December 2000 and is the organization's 16th president.

Walton, of Sturgis, joins the board as the chairman of the MFB promotion and education committee. He is a full-time employee on a 1,800-acre cash crop farm near Constantine and also operates his own 400-acre farm, growing seed corn, soybeans, wheat and rye. Walton is in his third-term and fifth year serving on the promotion and education committee.

In other election activity, the following MFB members were each re-elected to two-year terms as district directors.

Brent Hotchkin, of Concord in Jackson County, is the District 2 director representing Farm Bureau members in Branch, Hillsdale, Calhoun, Jackson and Lenawee counties.
Paul Koeman, of Hamilton in Allegan County, is District 4 director, representing Farm Bureau members in Ottawa, Kent, Allegan, Barry and Ionia counties.
Carl Bednarski, of Caro in Tuscola County, is District 6 director representing Farm Bureau members in Huron, Tuscola, Lapeer, Sanilac, Macomb and St. Clair counties.
Mike Mulders, of Essexville in Bay County, is the District 8 director, representing Farm Bureau members in Arenac, Bay, Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Isabella, Midland and Saginaw counties.
Patrick McGuire, of Ellsworth in Antrim County, is the District 10 director, representing Farm Bureau members in Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet, Cheboygan, Otsego, Crawford, Roscommon, Presque Isle, Montmorency, Oscoda, Ogemaw, Alpena, Alcona and Iosco counties.

The MFB membership also re-elected Doug Darling, of Maybee in Monroe County, and Andrew Hagenow, of Rockford in Kent County, to two-year terms as directors at-large.

In addition, Joe Ott, of Sand Creek in Lenawee County, was re-elected to a one-year term as the young farmer representative. Ott is chairman of the MFB young farmer committee, which represents young farmers between the ages of 18 and 35.

In its reorganization meeting, the board elected District 3 director Mike Fusilier of Manchester vice president. Rounding out the board's 2011 executive committee, as selected by the board, are Bednarski, District 11 director Dave Bahrman of Rumely, and District 5 director Alan Garner of Lansing.

Photos and biographies of MFB board members are online at http://www.michfb.com/about/bios.

MFB represents more than 48,000 farm families across the state. The four-day annual meeting was held Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel and DeVos Place.

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Editor's note: A photo of Larry Walton is online at http://www.michfb.com/annual/photos. Photos and complete biographies of the other MFB board members are online at http://www.michfb.com/about/bios. For more information after Dec. 3, contact MFB Media Relations Manager Jill Corrin at (517) 323-6585.