Champions of Excellence Awards | County Awards | Michigan Farm Bureau
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  • Champions of Excellence Awards

  • Purpose

    Carl Bednarski"The Champions of Excellence Awards recognize county Farm Bureaus for activity and program development, regardless of which committee conducted the work. Leadership development, agricultural advocacy, program innovation and member involvement are all trademarks of a strong and healthy county Farm Bureau that deserve to be recognized." 

    Carl Bednarski, Michigan Farm Bureau President

  • Entry Deadlines

    Electronic forms must be received at Michigan Farm Bureau via [email protected] no later than July 1, 2019.

    Announcement of district winners will be made no later than
    August 16, 2019.

    Announcement of state winners will be made at the MFB Annual Meeting,  Council of President's Conference, TBD.


  • The Champions of Excellence Awards have received a facelift, and will feature two award applications, Advocacy and Innovation. The previous Involvement application will now be selected by numbers pulled directly from county statistics. Click here for involvement award criteria. Leadership Development has been integrated into the Advocacy and Innovation applications. 

  • Advocacy

    Allegan AdvocacyThe Advocacy award category focuses on county programs that enable members to advocate on behalf of Farm Bureau policy, or educate and promote the food & agriculture industry.

    Tip for success: 

    Tell us how your county Farm Bureau identified a critical agricultural issue, or a promotion or education opportunity, and describe how that program, event or activity addressed the issue. 


  • Innovation

    Iosco InnovationThe Innovation award category focuses on new programs, events and activities that county Farm Bureaus have implemented in the past 12 months. Any type of activity is eligible as long as it was your county's first time conducting the program, event or activity. 

    Tip for success: 

    Tell us how your county's program was innovative and provide ideas to share with other county Farm Bureaus that may want to use your idea in the future.  

  • Program Rules and Guidelines

    1. County Farm Bureau applications must be received at the state Farm Bureau office no later than July 1, 2019. Applications can be downloaded from the MFB website and emailed to [email protected] Electronic applications are required - handwritten applications will not be accepted.  

    2. Applications must be complete and shall be no more than two pages long. 

    3. County Farm Bureaus may submit only one application per award category (Innovation and/or Advocacy). The program or activity must have been conducted between the dates of July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019. A maximum of two photos and one other supporting document (i.e. press release, poster, invitation, etc.) may accompany application. These items must be submitted electronically and will become the property of Michigan Farm Bureau. Note: Photos must be high resolution, good quality and sufficiently represent the activity or program for use in promotional materials if selected as a winner. 


    4. Entry forms received at the state Farm Bureau will be evaluated solely on the contents of the entry form by both district and state judges. 
     
    5. By submitting an entry, county Farm Bureaus and their representatives agree to participate in the publicity efforts of Michigan Farm Bureau. Submission of entry does not guarantee publication. 

    6. Michigan Farm Bureau will announce district winners by August 16, 2019. District Directors will award winner(s) at county annual meeting(s). State winners will be announced and awarded at the MFB Council of President's Conference, TBD.  

    7. One award winner per category will be selected in each district and will receive a $350 county grant. State award winners (one per category) will be selected from district award winners and will receive a $1,000 county grant. 

    8. Only one county Farm Bureau per award category will be selected as a district winner. District winner(s) will then be forwarded to compete at the state level. It is the responsibility of the individual submitting the application to retain a copy for their records. 

  • Judging

    1. Award applications received by July 1, 2019 will be forwarded to each district for judging.

    2. The State Young Farmer and State Promotion and Education chair will submit one representative to be placed in a pool of judges.

    3. District level (33): Three judges for each district, comprised of a representative from the pool, MFB regional representative and MFB staff, will review each entry in all award categories of another district as assigned by MFB. Judges shall remain impartial, and not judge a district in which they hold a membership.

    4. State level (12): There shall be at least three judges reviewing each entry in each of the award areas. Judges, comprised of one representative from the pool, one MFB staff member and a representative from an outside agricultural entity will judge applications by each award category as assigned.

    5. Judges will receive electronic copies of entries for their review. If necessary, judges will confer via electronic means or via telephone to agree on designation of awards.