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Volunteer of the Month
MFB's Volunteers of the Month are selected by a panel of discerning staff judges who work with Farm Bureau members statewide in a variety of program areas. Nomination forms are available at all county offices, or by contacting Lori Chamberlain at the MFB Young Farmer Department at (800) 292-2680, ext. 3234.
Kathy Siler
May, 2007 Volunteer of the Month
Manchester woman named MFB Volunteer of the Month
LANSING, June 22, 2007 - In recognition of her outstanding local communication efforts on behalf of her county Farm Bureau, Kathy Siler of Manchester has been honored by the Michigan Farm Bureau (MFB) as the statewide organization's Volunteer of the Month for May 2007.
Siler this year dramatically broadened her activities as communication chair for the Washtenaw County Farm Bureau. Long a standout among county Farm Bureau newsletter editors, Siler this year intensified her efforts to better inform the non-farming community about local agriculture by stepping up her efforts to improve relations with local media outlets.
Her efforts have resulted in better local media coverage of agriculture, including an extensive package of articles in the Chelsea Standard that successfully "put a human face" on agriculture in Washtenaw County by thoroughly and informatively profiling five county farmers and their operations. The written profiles were supplemented by several photographs, supporting sidebar articles and statistical information about Washtenaw County farming.
"Siler's devotion to her county Farm Bureau is extraordinary, to the point that she pushes herself beyond her own "comfort zone" to put local agriculture in the spotlight and help educate the community about the industry that still dominates much of the area," wrote her nominator for Volunteer of the Month honors.
Beyond her drive to excel in the communications arena, Siler volunteers tirelessly in other segments of county Farm Bureau activity as well, providing hand-made decorations for her county annual meeting, staying active in one of the county's many Community Action Groups, representing her county Farm Bureau as a delegate at the MFB State Annual meeting and volunteering at the state-level Project RED (Rural Education Day) there.
Since 1976 Kathy and her husband Kenny Siler have operated a 135-acre farm in Freedom Township, raising corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa and a small herd of Suffolk sheep.
