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Contact:
Garrett Kelly
317-692-7825
317-205-5286
gkelly@infb.org          

(French Lick, Ind.) – December 8, 2017 – During the kick-off dinner at the 2017 Indiana Farm Bureau State Convention, 13 Farm Bureau members were honored for their efforts to promote membership in the organization. County Farm Bureaus were also recognized for exemplary membership retention achievements.

The award of Top 10 Performer is presented to INFB volunteers who sign the most new voting members during the program year, and the Premier Performer award is presented to the volunteer who signed the highest number of voting members for the organization.

This year’s Premier Performer award went to Harold Kleine of Allen County. This is the third year in a row Kleine has received the Premier Performer award. This year, Kleine signed 72 new members and 63 of those new members were voting (or farmer) members.

Top 10 Performer awards were received by the following individuals: Mark York, Wabash County, 18 memberships; Mary Lee Russell, Lawrence County, 15 memberships; Robert Harmon, Harrison County, 13 memberships; Susan Brocksmith, Knox County, 12 memberships; Bob Wichlinski, Porter County, 8 memberships; Dane Drew, Whitley County, 7 memberships; Gary Michel, Warrick County, 7 memberships; Bob Geswein, Floyd County, 6 memberships; Brian Morgan, Vermillion County, 6 memberships; Elsa Smith, Tipton County, 6 memberships; Neil Mennen, Clinton County, 6 memberships; and Roger Hadley, Allen County, 6 memberships.

County Farm Bureaus also were recognized for their efforts to retain INFB members. The District Defender Award was presented to the counties with the highest overall retention percentage of voting members. This year’s winners each retained more than 95 percent of the voting members in their county from 2016: Starke County, District 1; Steuben County, District 2; Carroll County, District 3; Wabash County, District 4; Vermillion County, District 5; Hamilton County, District 6; Lawrence County, District 7; Decatur County, District 8; Perry County, District 9; and Harrison County, District 10.

The Superior Defender award, presented to the county with the highest overall retention, went to Perry County. Perry County retained 98.21 percent of voting members from 2016.

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About Indiana Farm Bureau: Since 1919, Indiana Farm Bureau (INFB) has protected the livelihood, land, equipment, animals and crops of Hoosier farmers. It is the state’s largest general farm organization and a farmer’s strongest advocate. INFB works diligently to ensure a farmer’s right to farm, because agriculture is so vital to Indiana’s economy. Learn more at INFB.org