From Fleetwood Bank
Pictured above: Nearly 140 local industry professionals attended Fleetwood Bank’s Agricultural Appreciation Dinner at the Oley Fair Centre on Wednesday, March 26.
On Wednesday, March 26, Fleetwood Bank hosted an Agricultural Dinner at the Oley Fair Centre. The invocation by Jaclyn Martin, Chaplain of the PA State FFA Officer Team, started the evening. A hearty buffet dinner was fed to nearly 140 local industry professionals, thanks to Fleetwood Bank and generous volunteers of the Oley Fire Company and Oley Fair, who volunteered their time to cook and serve the meal.
“Seeing a room full of so many hardworking, local Ag industry professionals alongside five Berks County FFA chapters (Brandywine Heights FFA, Kutztown FFA, Oley Valley FFA, Schuylkill Valley FFA, and Tulpehocken FFA) representing the future of the industry was impactful,” reflected Kevin D. Bieber, Commercial Lender and Relationship Manager at Fleetwood Bank. Bieber played a major role in planning the event. Having been heavily involved as a board member of the PA State Fair Association since 1998, as well as President of the Oley Fair since 2003, his connections to the industry resulted in a great lineup of speakers.
Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding broke bread with attendees and enjoyed meeting the FFA students who attended the event. Redding reminded the crowd how lucky we are to “live in a state who leads the nation in farmland preservation and has more young people under the age of 35 in agriculture than any other state in the United States.”
Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach reminded us how “strong and bright the future of Berks County Ag business economy thanks to the young people sitting in the room.” In a heartfelt speech, Leinbach credited the parents and grandparents that “instilled in them the value of the land and values unique to the industry of agriculture.”
Chloe Bomgardner, President of the State FFA Officer Team, and Ava Immel, the PA State Fair Queen, also addressed the crowd with encouraging words of gratitude. The night concluded with humorous and educational wisdom in a speech entitled “Know Your Numbers,” which was presented by keynote speaker Kevin Guldin, President of Oley Valley Feed Inc., Harleysville Feed, and The Mill in Germansville.
“Nationally, community banks are responsible for 80% of all agricultural lending, and as the only bank headquartered in Berks County, we consider it our responsibility to host events like this to properly recognize the efforts of our local ag leaders who make up the #1 industry in our state,” concluded Bieber.
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Source: bctv