By Charlie Elrod, NEAFA President
This month we are honored to include contributions to the NEAFA Newsletter from two people who are nearing the end of their careers in service to the public and our agricultural industry. I sincerely hope that you will read the articles from NYS Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo and AFIA’s Louise Calderwood. As I thought about having these articles in the newsletter, from two remarkable women at the ends of their regular careers, it got me thinking about legacy.
Coincidently, and while those thoughts had been bouncing around my brain, I went with my wife and siblings to see the play Hamilton about the life of one of our nation’s founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton. One line that caught my attention towards the end of the play was something like: A legacy is planting seeds that you will never have the opportunity to see grow. Honestly, I couldn’t disagree more. Sure, there are some projects you may start, or a young protégé you may mentor, that you don’t get to see through to fruition. But every single one of us leaves a legacy, which I think we should recognize and be proud of.
Most of us won’t win Feedmill Of The Year, a Distinguished Service Award, or some other public recognition for a “Job Well Done”. Honors like that, often bestowed toward the end of one’s career, are usually well-deserved accolades. Each of us though deserves a Distinguished Service Award for a multitude of acts and accomplishments in our lives. Raising hard-working, well-adjusted kids who in turn raise smart, respectful kids are a big part of many of our legacies. Mentoring a young colleague who grows into an industry leader may be part of your legacy. A simple act of kindness or support for a friend, colleague, family member or complete stranger is part of your legacy. I hope that each of you will give some thought to the many ways that you have made your business, your community, your industry or even this Alliance better for your having been a part of it.
Our Alliance also has a legacy. We have worked diligently in our advocacy, at the state and federal levels, often through our partners like Louise Calderwood at AFIA or Assemblywoman Lupardo. We have chalked up some significant wins in these efforts and will need to keep at it in order for the agricultural industry to continue to thrive in the coming decades. We also have a huge legacy in the form of scholarships we have funded, largely through the Golf For Good Works program. Many dozens of students have benefited from that support which helped them take the next step in their careers in agriculture.
And speaking of Golf For Good Works, our annual golf tournament is just around the corner on August 12th! If you haven’t done so, please register to play, sponsor, or both!! Only through everyone’s participation, in ways big and small, will we continue to build on our Alliance’s legacy.