Benton County Women’s Leadership Committee and Monroe County’s Jana Carroll receive awards

Members of the Benton County Women's Leadership Committee accept their award from state Women's Leadership Committee Vice Chair Megan Allen (far left) and Chair Donna Bemis (far left in rear). 

The Women’s Leadership Committee from Benton County is the Outstanding County Women’s Program award winner for 2019. The group was recognized Dec. 5, during Arkansas Farm Bureau’s 85th Annual Conference at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. It was a repeat win for the ladies who also earned the honor in 2018.

Committee chairwoman Brenda Patton accepted the award for Benton County. “I was really surprised just as I was last year. I do know the ladies worked so hard, and they really deserve this recognition,” Patton said. “They contribute a lot to agriculture.”

Each year, Arkansas Farm Bureau honors the county Women’s Leadership Committee that exhibits exemplary support of its county organization, activities and goals. Farm Bureau women help accomplish the organization’s mission by working with local schools and educating children about agriculture and where people get their food, fiber and fuel. From a variety of Ag in the Classroom activities to informing people about the safety and affordability of our food, the women of Farm Bureau enthusiastically represent the organization by telling the farming and ranching story.

Patton said the committee concentrated a lot on Ag in the Classroom activities, including farm-to-you stations that teach students where food comes from, how its raised and the health benefits of particular foods.

Patton says one of the strengths of the committee is the many areas of expertise the women bring to the table. “All the ladies have specialty areas, because they come from different backgrounds and different kinds of farms. We have equine education, water quality projects, and we have a great dairy program. We’re always talking about more ways we can get involved. These ladies are always gung-ho and so dedicated to agriculture. I just couldn’t ask for a better group of ladies to work with.”

Jana Carroll of Monroe County Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee received the Arkansas Farm Bureau Women’s Diamond Award, which honors a county Farm Bureau leader whose volunteer efforts are above and beyond the norm. She and her husband, Jon, who is a Farm Bureau board member run a row-crop farm.

(L to R) Women's Leadership Committee Vice Chair Magen Allen and Chair Donna Bemis present Jana Carroll with her award.

“I am shocked!” Carroll said. “I had no idea that my voice was that big. What I started out to do was simply tell our story as farmers to let people know, who are not involved in agriculture, what that entails on a day-to-day basis and to let them know where their food comes from.”

Carroll is the voice of “The Thankful Farmer” on Facebook. She shares the value and importance of agriculture through school and community programs, as well as social media. “The Thankful Farmer is my go-to,” she said. “Every day there is something to be thankful for, and I am thankful.”

Arkansas Farm Bureau is a nonprofit, private advocacy organization of almost 190,000 families throughout the state working to improve farm and rural life.