Southeast Wisconsin Farm Bureau Group Donates to Wildfire Relief Efforts

The tenth annual District 1 Young Farmer and Agriculturist Spring Fling was held on Saturday, March 18 at the Columbian in West Bend. More than 350 attendees collected $750 for wildfire relief efforts.

“It was just the right thing to do,” said Ozaukee County YFA co-chair Bob Nash. “I have driven through Kansas and Texas a lot. Knowing what the landscape looked like and seeing pictures of how it looks now is heart breaking. They lost everything so I wanted to do anything I could to help out, and the Spring Fling was the perfect opportunity.”

The YFA group uses their profit to host other educational or networking events throughout the district. This year however, their $450 profit will be donated to the Kansas Farm Bureau Foundation for wildfire relief efforts. An additional $300 was collected by passing cowboy boots around to attendees.

“I was not expecting much to be collected,” Nash said, “But everyone kept throwing $10 or $20 in the boot. It was so neat to see how many people cared.”

While fires burned their way through Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas, the worst of the wildfires were in Kansas, so the Spring Fling planning committee determined the $750 raised would be for the Kansas Farm Bureau Foundation.

“The farming community has a history of sticking together and supporting one another in times of need,” said Jefferson County YFA chair Lindsay Knoebel. “A lot of the farmers and ranchers affected by the fires may not ask for help, but I know for a fact that if the tables were turned, they would do everything they could to help us in Wisconsin. We did it because it was the right thing to do.”

The District 1 Spring Fling is open to the public and usually held in March. District 1 includes the counties of Ozaukee, Washington, Milwaukee, Waukesha, Jefferson, Racine, Kenosha and Walworth; however, attendees come from all over the state. Next year’s District 1 YFA Spring Fling will be held March 24, 2018 at the Columbian in West Bend. Members of the Spring Fling planning committee include: Rick Roden, Bob Nash, Lindsay Knoebel, Charlie Oberhaus and Patti Roden.