Meet Your Staff: Member Engagement & Field Training Specialist Becca Gulliver

Becca Gulliver comes from southwestern Midland County: “Teeterville, Porter Township — Wheeler address...

“I was not raised on a farm,” she confesses, but keep reading. “My connection to agriculture stems from my god parents, Scott and Jeanne Miller, who got me involved in showing market cattle at the Midland County Fair.

“I spent every summer evening walking, rinsing and brushing cattle to prepare them for the fair in August. That was just the spark though.”

While attending school in nearby Breckenridge, she suffered a nasty bite from the ag bug.

“In eighth grade I participated in the FFA broiler contest and then really got involved as a freshman, participating in the leadership contest and attending any convention or conference I could. I served in chapter, regional and state FFA officer positions which all lead me to studying agriculture, food and natural resources at Michigan State.”

And it’s there — from the banks of the Red Cedar — where your Farm Bureau finds much of its talent. Becca hired in as the Saginaw Valley regional manager in 2016 and served members in Bay, Gratiot, Isabella, Midland and Saginaw counties until 2021, when she took on her current role.

“I’m the ‘Member Engagement and Field Training Specialist’ — quite the title, I know — but in short I’m responsible for helping train new regional managers and cover their vacancies as necessary. I manage the Community Action Group program, oversee new county leader and new presidents’ training, and do all I can to equip field staff with the resources they need to serve our members.”

Outside agriculture, “My family and friends come first. I have four nieces and a nephew who push me to do better and be better every day.”

She picked up crocheting from her grandmother at an early age and still turns to it when she needs to decompress. “This past year was the first time I ever read a pattern and made something other than a blanket: It was five bunnies for a baby mobile.

“Another hobby is painting ceramics — something my mom and I did weekly until our local shop closed. Now she, my aunt and I try to get together weekly for dinner and a craft.”

Then there’s softball: “I grew up at the ball diamond with my dad, playing fast-pitch for 30-some years, and all three of us girls (I have two older sisters) playing.”

She and her dad are now coaching an eight-and-under travel team with one of those nieces on the roster.

“I always dreamed of one day coaching with my dad,” she said. “Learning from his experience was a no-brainer and having my niece on the team was the cherry on top!”