Last month the 2026-2027 ProFILE cohort had its first training session, meeting to learn more about speechwriting and practice sharing the topics we’re most passionate about.
After a snowy, wild and slower than expected drive to our retreat venue, those of us from the eastern side of the state arrived just before programming kicked off. What came next was two days of learning, partnering and growing with a group of people I’m excited to call my classmates.
What instantly grabbed my attention is the comfort this group has with sharing our personal beliefs, what builds us and what we’d like to do. From bundt pans to fishing poles, kid stories to speech help, our team hit it off and hit the ground running. Our conversations varied as I’m sure you can tell, but they had purpose and helped connect us.
That connection was promptly put to good use as we started drafting the speeches we’ll practice and share over the next several months.
Our team has a delightfully different mix of backgrounds and goals, positioning us well to help each other through the process. After our instructor Coty Back walked us through the fundamentals of giving a good speech, we didn’t shift to taking a break or dive right into our next agenda item. Instead, almost unconsciously, we formed groups and kept working on our speeches, bouncing ideas off each other and testing lines for immediate feedback.
A comfort level that strongly and quickly established doesn’t happen often, but ProFILE somehow makes it happen again and again.
We’re only one event in on this journey but I already feel comfortable working on any project with anyone else in my class — not just because I know their ag background or because they can handle a minivan in the snow… Not because they give good advice on sentence structure or can roll with crazy recipes in a cookoff (looking at you, peanut butter deviled eggs) — but because with every interaction, this group has made clear that no matter who we are, we’re all here to grow.
And that’s really what ProFILE is all about.
Former MFB intern Loren King is a Lenawee County Farm Bureau member whose family raises corn and soybeans. As digital media supervisor with MorganMyers, he helps the agriculture industry navigate technologies like artificial intelligence.
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