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Editor's Note: The following are excerpts from the speech given by TFB President Kenneth Dierschke at the 71st annual convention in San Antonio.
By Kenneth Dierschke
President
Texas Farm Bureau
"The Texas Farm Bureau has been built over these seven decades by men and women of vision. Our organization stands today—strong and effective—because it's been built from the County Farm Bureau up. Great care was—and still is—given to that foundation that is the key to all our success.
"This city (San Antonio) helped give birth to Texas 168 years ago. From those `Lone Star' founding fathers, we learned about sacrifice, honor, determination and hard work. Farm Bureau defends those ideas today. We also learned the importance of goals and ideals from our history. The pioneers of early Texas had—if you will—a mission. Their desire for freedom and liberty drove their actions and motivated them to great achievement.
"Your board of directors has just completed a comprehensive strategic planning process. At the heart of the process is a clearly defined mission statement that sets the course for our organization.
"As recently rewritten, that mission statement is: 'To be an effective organization in successfully advancing the public policy interests of farmers and ranchers and serving as the Voice of Agriculture while providing high-value member benefits and services.'
"We will talk more of goals and strategies...but this is our mission...our reason for being...our path to the future.
"Helen Keller once said: 'I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.'
"What she didn't say is that in the process of doing those small things, Ms. Keller did accomplish a great thing. Blind and deaf from birth, she became one of the greatest educators of the physically challenged, and she is remembered as an inspiration for the entire nation.
"As an advocate for farmers and ranchers, politics is much of what we do. And in any successful political effort, it is not the great and noble task that ensures our success. Of course, that does happen now and again, and it's exhilarating. What counts are those many small but vital roles that Farm Bureau folks have learned to play so well. The sum of THAT adds up to greatness.
"For example, there are letters, phone calls and personal visits with state legislators. There are contacts with newspaper editors and radio and television reporters. There is the building of coalitions with other groups and individuals. There is the constant and vital work of signing new members. And here in San Antonio, we have the critical job of completing a strong, effective and responsible policy book. We accept this challenge because it is one of the benchmarks that charts our path to a better future. By performing these tasks, we have succeeded in a great and noble thing—building an organization that we have used to make life better in rural Texas.
"I want to return for a moment to our strategic plan—newly adopted by your board of directors. In this process, we developed seven broad objectives.
"The first of these is to 'speak as the Voice of Agriculture for agricultural producers of all commodities in the State of Texas.'
"'The Voice of Agriculture' is, at the same time, the motto of our organization and the best description of what it does. Part of this objective is to forge alliances with other agricultural organizations.
"We intend to build upon what we've already done in forging coalitions and finding common ground upon which to lay the foundation for the future of our country.
"The next objective is to be the state's most effective public policy advocate for the agricultural industry. This objective relates directly to the grassroots nature of our organization. We have the structure, but keeping it viable requires the willing volunteerism of strong County Farm Bureau leaders and state leadership that nurtures and encourages our grassroots effort.
"Next, we will strengthen County Farm Bureau office operations and county organization finances.
"The County Farm Bureau IS Farm Bureau. We will redouble our efforts to focus on purpose activities. We will explore means of relieving the financial burden of many of our County Farm Bureaus.
"Our next objective is to foster steady and reliable membership growth, and improve member benefits and services. In working toward this objective we will use all our resources and communication tools to involve our leaders in membership growth. Our member services are second to none.
"Next, we will maintain this organization's financial health and build upon the grassroots structure of our organization.
"We'll improve our communications at all levels, working together—better and smarter.
"Another objective is to enhance TFB's public relations efforts and increase activities to market and "brand" the name of Texas Farm Bureau.
"We know from previous research that the Farm Bureau name means something strong and positive in Texas.
"We will capitalize on this by working to create a consistent 'brand' for Farm Bureau all across the Lone Star State.
"We will continue to promote outreach with the non-farm public with our media efforts, improvements in our Planet Agriculture display, Ag-in-the-Classroom and many other ways of telling the story of Texas farm and ranch families.
"Finally, we will enhance our efforts to educate farmer and rancher members on principles and techniques of effective leadership. In other words—we will build Farm Bureau leadership from within.
"In Farm Bureau, our dream endures. We have a strong and vital organization to carry forward the hopes of rural America.
"You have nurtured that dream. Together, we will realize the promise of a new and brighter future for all the farm, ranch and families of Texas."
