Vertical row left (top to bottom): Beth Blevins, DVM, Montana; Kaye Peterson, Kentucky; Rebecca Smith, Tennessee; Anita Hand, New Mexico; Amelia Kent, Louisiana. Vertical row middle (top to bottom): Debra Walsh, Indiana; Kristal Harris, Virginia; Linda Fawn Courville, Louisiana; Joan Myers, Pennsylvania; Elaine Avery, Georgia; Nancy Caywood, Arizona. Vertical row right (top to bottom): Valerie Ansell, Florida; Susan May, Kansas; Jamie Tiralla, Maryland;  Judy Bare, North Carolina; Raenell Edsall-Taylor, Wyoming.

“It’s more important than ever that farmers and ranchers make connections with consumers as they’re having conversations about how food is grown,” said Terry Gilbert, a Kentucky farmer and chair of the American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee. In Farm Bureau, Gilbert explained, it’s often women members who step up as communicators, “serving the critical function of representing their farms and agriculture in speaking with the public and reaching out through social media.”

This year’s Boot Camp graduates are: Valerie Ansell, Florida; Elaine Avery, Georgia; Judy Bare, North Carolina; Beth Blevins, DVM, Montana; Nancy Caywood, Arizona; Linda Fawn Courville, Louisiana; Anita Hand, New Mexico; Kristal Harris, Virginia; Amelia Kent, Louisiana; Susan May, Kansas; Joan Myers, Pennsylvania; Kaye Peterson, Kentucky; Rebecca Smith, Tennessee; Raenell Edsall-Taylor, Wyoming; Jamie Tiralla, Maryland; and Debra Walsh, Indiana.

The AFBWLC, under the leadership of Gilbert, sponsors the Women’s Communications Boot Camp. The program is open to all women involved in Farm Bureau.