Fairwell, but not Goodbye
Over 18 years ago, I joined the staff of the Cook County Farm Bureau as the first Director of Public Policy. The position was the result of a board strategic planning session. My direction upon being hired was “to make Cook County Farm Bureau a major player in Cook County government.” A small task, right?
Looking back, that first year was a mix of meeting county commissioners. Board members. Volunteers. And aldermen. Coming from the hallowed halls of the Capitol meant that I was familiar with state legislators, but wholly unprepared for the travel, traffic, and parking associated with ‘Friend of Agriculture’ award delivery and Adopt-a-Legislator visits. I believe it was that year that one of my volunteers assumed parallel parking duty for me outside of Smoque BBQ in Chicago. It was also the last time anyone believed I could back a car.
Shortly after the door closed on that first year, the Cook County Farm Bureau Board of Directors approved the creation of the Cook CFB Political Action Committee. Leading up to the approval, volunteers and leaders weighed the benefits and risks associated with creating a PAC that didn’t necessarily favor incumbents and was designed to operate the heaviest during Primary Elections.
The PAC’s first round of endorsements was for the 2010 Primary Election. Since its creation, PAC Governance Committee members, volunteers, and leaders have interviewed over 185 candidates and made over 80 endorsements. Assuming that each interview lasted only 40 minutes, which most did not, volunteers have spent over 123 hours interviewing candidates. One hundred twenty-three hours or over five days of interviews. These interviews are a tremendous credit to the volunteers who willingly give of their time. Some of these interviews will live on in infamy. Like the time I was called a hack for the Democratic machine and a Republican blowhard on the same day. Or the candidate who nearly came across the table because she didn’t like the question she was asked. Or the lady who told us all about her chickens that lived in her house.
It was early in my time with Farm Bureau that I led my first Washington, D.C. fly-in. If my math is correct, we’ve returned to D.C. six times since that initial program. Cook CFB participants have visited a variety of sites during the fly-ins, including the American Sugar Alliance, Tyson Foods, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, USDA Research Center, the International Fresh Produce Association, the Environmental Working Group, the International Dairy Foods Association, and the Pentagon. Each program has had a slightly different focus depending on the issues and priorities that Farm Bureau is working on at the time. Although each of these programs are educational, they’re also an outstanding opportunity for volunteers and leaders to connect and learn more about one another. However, that first year was filled with beef tartare. Cognac. And losing a volunteer on the D.C. metro. I returned to Chicago confident that my tenure at the Farm Bureau was very short-lived. Fortunately, it was not.
Several years later, I didn’t lose a volunteer, but several of us took several uncomfortable charter bus rides as part of the Staff Exchange program. The Staff Exchange is designed to expose county leaders and staff to Cook County agriculture. Past participants have toured greenhouses, local farms, area agribusinesses, food processors, ingredient manufacturers, and cutting-edge facilities. Although this program started as a full-day adventure, it very quickly became a half-day, multiple-day program. The change not only enabled more people to attend the program, but it also widened our audience since we weren’t asking staff to take a full day out of their office.
Like our Washington D.C. fly-ins this program is also riddled with unexpected excitement. One year, our bus driver refused to accept directions, and we got very, very lost. Another year, we followed directions but went the wrong way, i.e., north instead of south. And perhaps most infamously, there was the year that the bus picked up the group and made it less than half a mile before side-swiping a car and getting into a screaming match with the other driver, in the middle of Lake Street in downtown Chicago. Needless to say, we arrived at our destinations via Uber that year.
Speaking of Chicago, in 2012, Farm Bureau had the opportunity to partner again with the Ronald McDonald House of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana for Food Checkout Day. With the grand opening of the house near Lurie Children's Hospital, Food Checkout Day was expanded to a multi-part program. The morning featured a sportscaster grudge match to collect the most food for the House. If my memory serves me correctly, Marc Giangreco raced to the finish ahead of Ryan Baker. The afternoon featured a classic battle between the Oak Lawn Police and Fire.
Food Checkout Day has since evolved to include donations to local food pantries and the Young Leader Hygiene Product Drive, but its message remains the same: local farmers supporting local families in need. This program and programs spurred by it have won two Power of A Summit Awards from the American Society of Association Executives as well as numerous Farm Bureau awards, but it's not the awards that have impacted me the most; it's been the opportunity to meet the families, the pantry directors, and Food Checkout Day supporters and partners that have made a lasting impact.
As I prepare to step away from Cook County Farm Bureau, I don’t have enough space in this column to thank everyone, but please know that I am forever grateful for the opportunities and challenges offered to me through this role. The person who entered the doors of 6438 Joliet Road in February of 2008 is not the same as the person exiting, and that has been because of the leaders, volunteers, friends, partners, colleagues, and individuals I’ve met along the way. To the Board of Directors and especially to President Janet McCabe, thank you for the past 18 years. It’s been an incredible journey.
To the Kane County Farm Bureau, I look forward to the path that we will carve out together.