A Little Slice of History

This morning, my husband and I took time out of our jam-packed schedule to stop and have a few minutes of our morning archived for future generations.

What am I talking about?

We were given the opportunity to have a 40 minute interview recorded through Story Corps, and it will be archived in the Library of Congress. Talk about an amazing opportunity.

The only issue we had? Apparently if you take a cell phone and cover it in foam, my normally talkative husband clams up. That’s right, Mr. Social seemed to have an issue with keeping a conversation going with me. But never fear, the wonderful woman assisting us jumped in at the right moments, helping him open up and tell even more wonderful stories.

The best part of all was knowing that this information will be recorded for all of posterity, allowing our children, our grandchildren and even their grandchildren the opportunity to hear our thoughts, memories and plans for the future. It’s not every day that you get an opportunity like that, and we have Farm Bureau to thank for it.

If you ever have an opportunity to tell your story, be sure to do it. Not just your plans for the future, but where you’ve been, how you made it to where you are—including the trials and tribulations.

Amazing moments in amazing places—it’s the Farm Bureau way.

wagfarms is Val Wagner, a North Dakota farmer and rancher. The Wag’n Tales blog features stories from this mom of four who loves farm life and invites readers to come along for the ride. Follow Val on Twitter (@wagfarms) and find her on Facebook. She is a member of the North Dakota Farm Bureau’s Promotion & Education Committee.

The Social Part of Media

This evening I was fortunate enough to be able to take part in an amazing reception that was sponsored by Monsanto in cooperation with RFD-TV to give thanks to an amazing group of people…the media.

It was a great opportunity to meet some truly wonderful people that work so hard to help us get our stories out there. But I did catch a few of them having fun, like…

Willie Vought and Frank Holdenmyer of Farm Progress Companies visit with Janice Person of Monsanto.

JP started off in her street clothes at the RFD-TV studio…

Then broke out her inner Marty Stuart!

There were some Rock Stars with dressing rooms!

And one of the coolest pumpkins I’ve ever seen!

And even I got the chance to feel a little star treatment!

Thank you to all who made it possible!

wagfarms is Val Wagner, a North Dakota farmer and rancher. The Wag’n Tales blog features stories from this mom of four who loves farm life and invites readers to come along for the ride. Follow Val on Twitter (@wagfarms) and find her on Facebook. She is a member of the North Dakota Farm Bureau’s Promotion & Education Committee.

Lessons Learned Through Flapjacks

Things I’ve learned from Jack Hanna, the entertainer at this morning’s Foundation Flapjack Fundraiser:

- Not all penguins need cold weather

I learned from Jack Hanna that not all penguins need cold weather. In fact, some penguins wouldn’t make it in my state, North Dakota!

- Don’t order certain coffees from Starbucks

- A sloth doesn’t move during the day…which reminds me of a few people I know!

 

This morning’s Flapjack Fundraiser was an amazing opportunity to see all the great things the Foundation has done the last year, meet a few new people and share a few early morning laughs. What a great start to the day!

 

wagfarms is Val Wagner, a North Dakota farmer and rancher. The Wag’n Tales blog features stories from this mom of four who loves farm life and invites readers to come along for the ride. Follow Val on Twitter (@wagfarms) and find her on Facebook. She is a member of the North Dakota Farm Bureau’s Promotion & Education Committee.

Pulling Up By Your Bootstraps

While preparing for our trip to Nashville for the 2013 annual meeting, I had a lot of decisions to make about what I was going to pack. But my hardest decision was trying to pick what I was going to wear on my feet. Yeah, I’m all girl like that.

So what did I bring? I’m sure you’re dying to know!

Sometimes you need to be a Rock Star!

Well, sometimes you need to be a Rock Star and speak out for others, including your industry as a whole. So I brought with my black Rock Stars. Love these boots!

These are my Breast Cancer Awareness boots…comfy, sensible, and helping others all at once!

I also brought with my BCA boots. When I purchased these boots, a portion of the proceeds went to cancer research. It was a win-win. Sometimes when you go out in the world, you need to be sensible, comfortable with who you are, but willing to help out…even helping those you’ve never met.

So what are you wearing today? Are you stepping out in confidence, ready to get a little attention? Or are you focusing on comfort and sensibility, ready to pitch in behind the scenes?

It’s a decision we make each day…and this meeting is full of opportunities to slip your boots on, you just have to decide what you’re wearing!

See you soon!

wagfarms is Val Wagner, a North Dakota farmer and rancher. The Wag’n Tales blog features stories from this mom of four who loves farm life and invites readers to come along for the ride. Follow Val on Twitter (@wagfarms) and find her on Facebook. She is a member of the North Dakota Farm Bureau’s Promotion & Education Committee.