It is with great honor that I am writing to you today. Our agricultural heritage has been the backbone of Long Island and New York City's economic growth for hundreds of years. It is amazing that 1.5% of us representing the agricultural industry feed and provide services for 100% of the population. But many challenges continue to face agriculture.

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Being appointed as the new Executive Director of Farm Bureau District #11, which represents Long Island and the boroughs of NY City, is an honor. My entire life has been devoted to the agricultural industry and my passion for helping others is unsurpassed by any other. The shoes that I must fill are large from my predecessors. Our journey together will not be easy. There are challenges that arise daily, and while I hope to be able to say that every battle will be won, we all know that will not be the case. I can only promise to do my best to fight for each one of you.

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My vision is one of growth for our industry. According to the most recent NYS Comptroller's report, the Long Island metro area shows the greatest potential for growth in agriculture. Just as everything else changes, so does our industry, and we constantly must be watching with an open mind. All of us are aware of the daily challenges that we face with regulatory, production, and marketing issues.

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I feel strongly about engagement and getting out to see you as the members of Farm Bureau. It is a commitment that I am making because I feel that your voice must be heard. We all must stand up and get our message out there or else others will, and it may not be the true message of our industry.

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The other main goals that I have are to work on building our young and new farmer programs as well as expanding and working with our stakeholders on education and engagement of the public. Having served on the New York Farm Bureau and the American Farm Bureau committees for Promotion and Education/Engagement, I have seen a real growth when these areas are targeted.

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I encourage all of you to please reach out or stop by the office at any time. The coffee pot is always on, and it would be great to hear your stories and ideas that you might have. I am here to represent all of you, and I look forward to hearing from you.