Champaign County Farm Bureau

AFA Selects Foundation Scholarship Recipient for Advisory Team

July 2009

Brian Spannagel, a senior at SIU and a CCFBF scholarship recipient, can now add one more thing to his resume—member of the Agriculture Future of America (“AFA”) Student Advisory Team. AFA is a non-profit organization that is nationally recognized for its excellence in leader and career development in the agriculture industry through its Leaders Conference each November. The Foundation sponsors several students each year to attend the conference and Spannagel has completed all three tracks of the program.

Upon completion of the third track, AFA staff approached Spannagel to see if he would be interested in serving on the Student Advisory Team (“SAT”). In order to be selected he had to submit an application that included his resume and references, was then interviewed by an AFA staff member, and lastly had a group telephone interview. The SAT serves as AFA ambassadors and student advisors, assists in program planning and staffing for the Leaders Conference and related events, and as hosts of the Leaders Conference. Additional duties include recruiting new sponsors and addressing a broader scope of agriculture to attend the conference. Spannagel, an agriculture education major, is excited for the opportunity to learn about everything agriculture has to offer. “Coming from the heart of Illinois {Villa Grove}, I have been surrounded by corn, beans, and wheat. However, there are so many different components of agriculture that I love learning about as well as working with,” said Spannagel.

AFA has high expectations from its SAT and hopes they will serve as role models for other students. Spannagel has found AFA to be the best conference he has attended due to its combination of high quality students and industry representatives. “During the past three years, I have had the opportunity to grow and develop as an agricultural leader while being in a group of students who have similar goals and values, as well as a passion for agriculture. I want to give the new AFA delegates the same experience that I received,” he said.

At the conclusion of his term on the SAT, Spannagel will have gained experience in team leadership and interaction, media and communication training, interaction with corporate and association leaders, and public speaking. A strong resume-building experience indeed! If you or your business are interested in sponsoring a student to attend the AFA Leader’s Conference, please contact Debby Rehn.