State Farm Bureau Professionals Honored for Excellence in Communications

The American Farm Bureau Federation recently recognized top communications professionals from state Farm Bureau organizations for their exceptional work in communications. California, Florida and Illinois Farm Bureaus received the most awards overall, earning honors in several categories including writing, media relations and video production.

This year’s contest included 154 submissions for work produced in 2021.

“Communicators at the state level are integral to the mission of Farm Bureau,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “These professionals help ensure we are closely linked to our grassroots members and serve as critical partners highlighting the important work farmers and ranchers do each day, allowing us to be a powerful voice of agriculture across the country.”

Awards were presented to Farm Bureau communicators in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.

A list of award winners follows. Each category is divided into states with over or under 80,000 members, with larger state membership winners listed first. Only one award is listed in categories where there were entries in only one of the divisions. Photos of selected award winners will be available by 5 p.m. Eastern at www.fb.org/2022commsawards.

Best News Story

Kansas – Greg Doering

California – Kevin Hecteman

Best Feature Story

Alabama – Marlee Moore

California – Christine Souza

Best Single Blog Item, Editorial, or Column

Missouri – Garrett Hawkins

California – Jamie Johansson

Best Newspaper or E-Newsletter - published at least quarterly

Illinois – Deana Stroisch, Daniel Grant, Kay Shipman, Timothy Eggert, Tammie Sloup, Allison Preston, Nicole Dowling

New York – Steve Ammerman, Brooks Brown

Best Magazine - published at least quarterly

Florida – Cacee Hilliard, Amanda Overstreet, Rachael Smith

Pennsylvania – Joel Rotz, Liam Migdail, Holly Cohick, Lorraine Potochney-Kobold, Bill Zeiders

Best Member/Leader Newsletter - print or e-newsletter

Tennessee – Misty McNeese, Thomas Capps, Stacey Warner, Amy Beckham, Lee Maddox

Wisconsin – Marian Viney, Karen Gefvert

Best Graphic Design

Florida – Cacee Hilliard, Amanda Overstreet, Rachael Smith

Pennsylvania – Holly Cohick, Bill Zeiders, Darrin Youker

Best Audio News Story, Feature Story or Commentary/Editorial

Illinois – Rita Frazer, DeLoss Jahnke, Jim Taylor

Best Video News Story

Texas – Ed Wolff, Pedro Rosas

Idaho – Paul Boehlke, Jake Putnam

Best Video Feature Story

Michigan – Aaron Boak

California – Tracy Sellers, John Larimore, Melanie Duval

Best Promotional or Education Video or Ad

Georgia – Kenny Burgamy, Whitney Mooney, Nicollette Boydstun, Slayten Carter, Jennifer Parson, Hannah Johnston, Logan Thomas

Oregon – Anne Marie Moss

Best Website

Iowa – Sara Payne, Zach Bader, Dana Ardary, Bo Geigley, Aaron Siskow, Caitlyn Lamm

Utah – Matt Hargreaves, Susan Furner, Aubree Thomas, A.J. Ferguson

Best Unique Tactic or Execution

Florida – Cacee Hilliard, Amanda Overstreet, Rachael Smith

Montana – Rikki Swant, Laura Nelson, Rebecca Colnar

Best Public Relations Campaign

Indiana – Debra DeCourcy, Colleen Baker, Garrett Kelly, Maddie Sanft, Cheyenne Dunn, Kathleen Dutro, Brady Hagerty

Wisconsin – Rachel Gerbitz, Amy Eckelberg, Kevin Krentz, Cassie Sonnentag, Lynn Siekmann

Best Media Relations Event

Mississippi – Jon Kalahar, Alex Lowery, Karen Miller

Idaho – Joel Benson

Dave Lane Award for Media Relations Excellence

Illinois – DeAnne Bloomberg, Andrea Casali

Utah – Matt Hargreaves