Elections held during KFB’s 92nd annual meeting

Pulaski County farmer Mark Haney was re-elected president of Kentucky Farm Bureau (KFB) on the concluding day of the organization’s 92nd annual meeting. Also re-elected were Webster County’s Eddie Melton as First Vice-President and Hart County’s J. Fritz Giesecke as Second Vice-President. They comprise KFB’s Executive Committee along with Executive Vice President David S. Beck.
Haney has served on the Executive Committee for 13 years and has been a state director since 1993. For years he chaired the State Resolutions Committee. He is a past president of the Kentucky Center for Cooperative Development and the Kentucky Horticultural Society. A former President of the Pulaski County Farm Bureau, Haney and his brother, Don, produce apples and peaches near Nancy, KY, where they also raise beef cattle. They sell fresh produce from their orchards – as well as cider, jellies, baked goods and other products – at a KFB Certified Roadside Market located on the farm. He and his wife, Marlene, have two sons and a daughter.
Melton, a former President of Webster County Farm Bureau, is chairman of KFB’s State Resolutions Committee and Health Care Task Force. He also was chairman of KFB’s Farm Bill Task Force, which conducted statewide forums and sought input from Kentucky farmers on provisions of the 2008 farm bill. Melton serves in leadership positions with the Corn Growers Promotion Board and is chairman of the board of the Southern States Cooperative. He and his wife, Regina, have a daughter.
Giesecke serves as the chair of KFB’s Beef Cattle Advisory Committee and is a member of KFB’s Farm Labor Advisory Committee and Health Care Task Force. He also serves on the executive committee of the U.S. Meat Export Federation. Giesecke has been an active member of the Hart County Farm Bureau for over 30 years where he has served in a variety of leadership positions, including county president. He also served 25 years as county supervisor for the local soil conservation district. The Pulaski County native farms 190 acres in Horse Cave, KY. He and his wife, Lydia, have a daughter and a son.
Three new members were elected to the board this year: Mary Kate Kordes of Central City assumes the board position previously held by Steve Bolinger of Pembroke, Brandon Davis replaces Curt Lucas as the board’s representative from the Kentucky Department of Education, and Brent Cornett of London replaces Stephen DeBord of Eubank as the new chair of the Young Farmer Advisory Committee.
Other board members are: Randall Heath of Graves County; Tripp Furches of Calloway County; Kelly Thurman of McLean County; Larry Thomas of Hardin County; Patrick M. Henderson of Breckinridge County; Russell Poore of Logan County; Jay Coleman of Barren County; Scott Travis of Spencer County; Randy Chrisman of Anderson County; Joe Paul Mattingly of Marion County; David Chappell of Owen County; Terry Rowlett of Henry County; Danny Wilkinson of Adair County; Kim McCoy of Cumberland County; Terry R. Gilbert of Boyle County; David L. Campbell of Lincoln County; Alex Barnett of Harrison County; Shane Wiseman of Clark County; David McGlone of Carter County; Carroll Amyx of Wolfe County; Charlie Benge of Laurel County; Bige Hensley of Clay County; Marshall Coyle of Bath County; Phyllis Amyx of Wolfe County; Mickey Sirls of Marshall County; Kevin Lyons of Monroe County; and Dr. M. Scott Smith of Fayette County, who is also Dean of the UK College of Agriculture.
With more than 500,000 member families statewide, Kentucky Farm Bureau is the state’s largest farm organization. Approximately 1,300 members attended KFB’s 92nd annual meeting, November 30 through December 3, to recognize this year’s individual and organizational achievements as well as adopt policy for 2012.