Florida Farm Bureau board elects Secretary and Treasurer, adds two new board members

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Gainesville, Fla.) – The Florida Farm Bureau Federation board of directors has reelected Mark Byrd, an Apopka nurseryman, to be its Secretary and Jon W. Deas, a farmer from Jennings, to be Treasurer. The secretary and treasurer are elected annually by the board, following the annual meeting.

Mark Sodders, a Pahokee sugar producer, was elected to the board to represent District 17. Roland Yee, a Port St. Lucie vegetable producer who was elected class president of the FFBF Young Farmer and Rancher Leadership Group, also joined the board. Chris Lyons, who runs a diversified agricultural operation near Mayo, will continue to serve on the board as immediate past class president. Michelle Williamson, newly elected chair of the FFBF State Women’s Leadership Committee, and Virginia “Ginny” Paarlberg, who was elected Women’s Vice Chair, will continue to serve on the state board.

The elections were held at and immediately following the Federation’s annual meeting Oct. 10-12, 2007 at the Hilton Oceanview Resort in Daytona Beach.

John Hoblick, a fern grower from De Leon Springs, is president and Rick Roth, a vegetable and sugar cane producer from Wellington is vice president of the Florida Farm Bureau Federation, the state’s largest general-interest agricultural association with about 140,000 member-families statewide. Headquartered in Gainesville, the Federation is an independent, nonprofit agricultural organization. More information about Florida Farm Bureau is available on the organization’s website, FloridaFarmBureau.org.