See you Dec. 3-4 in Grand Rapids!

Jackson County’s Matthew Reinker speaks up on the delegate floor at MFB’s 2023 State Annual Meeting.

Date Posted: November 12, 2024

Jeremy C. Nagel, Michigan Farm Bureau

Themed “At the Table,” Michigan Farm Bureau’s 2024 State Annual Meeting continues the hybrid format launched in 2020, dividing the proceedings into separate components from Nov. 6 to Dec. 4:

Kickoff

The Virtual Kickoff took place online Nov. 6, with opening remarks and a call to order from MFB President Carl Bednarski, followed by reports from the credentials and rules committees; approval of the 2023 Annual Meeting Minutes; and reports from MFB COO Michelle Reynaert, Farm Bureau Insurance CEO Don Simon, and Treasurer Tom Nugent.

Discussion Meet Prelims

The preliminary rounds of the state-level Young Farmer Discussion Meet took place online Nov. 9, narrowing the field of contestants to this year’s Sweet 16:

District 1 — Drew Bordner, St. Joseph; Emily Swift, St. Joseph; Mark Trowbridge, St. Joseph
District 2 — Shayla Williams, Jackson
District 3 — Erica Drake, Washtenaw
District 4 — Zoey Zupin, Kent
District 6 — Logan Maher, Sanilac; Jasmine McNary, Sanilac
District 7 — Jasper Cunningham, Oceana; Amanda Goodfellow, Mecosta
District 8 — Logan Crumbaugh, Gratiot
District 9 — Kate King, Wexford; Madeleine Smeltzer, Wexford
District 10 — Ashley Cooper, Clare; Sarah Hollon, Clare
District 12 — Kelsi Dalgord, Hiawathaland

The in-person final rounds take place Dec. 3 in Grand Rapids.

District Meetings

Delegates in Districts 1-3 and 10-12 will meet at in-person, regional meetings Nov. 11-19:

District 1 — 6:30 p.m. Nov. 11; Delta Hotel, 2747 S. 11th St., Kalamazoo
District 2 — 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19; Olivia’s Chop House, 205 E. Chicago St., Jonesville
District 3 — 6 p.m. Nov. 13; Weber’s Ann Arbor, 3050 Jackson Rd., Ann Arbor
District 10 — 9 a.m. Nov. 11; Buck’s Country Cookin’, 105 Plaza East, West Branch
District 11 — 6 p.m. Nov. 12; The Boathouse, 204 Water St., East Jordan
District 12 — 10 a.m. Nov. 12; Holiday Inn Marquette, 1951 US-41 West, Marquette

Delegates in Districts 4-9 will meet in Grand Rapids, just prior to the Annual Meeting: 11:45 a.m. Dec. 3, in various Amway Grand Hotel conference rooms:

District 4 — 11:45 a.m. Dec. 3; Grand View Room
District 5 — 11:45 a.m. Dec. 3; Imperial Room
District 6 — 11:45 a.m. Dec. 3; Ambassador Ballroom West
District 7 — 11:45 a.m. Dec. 3; Ambassador Ballroom East
District 8 — 11:45 a.m. Dec. 3; Emerald Room
District 9 — 11:45 a.m. Dec. 3; Pearl Room

Each district’s representative on the state-level Policy Development Committee will share an overview of the issues delegates will consider in Grand Rapids. A written overview of this year’s policy slate is available online.

District meetings also cover several important housekeeping items, including delegate chair responsibilities and training in CloudVote, the system used by delegates taking part both in-person and remotely.

Grand Rapids

Everything culminates Dec. 3-4 at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel & DeVos Convention Center in downtown Grand Rapids, where delegates will engage in their final deliberations on policy recommendations that began taking shape months ago at your own county Farm Bureau.

Delegates are encouraged to review their resources on the MFB website.

There's a lot more than policy happening in Grand Rapids, however; here’s a detailed look at this year’s agenda:

TUESDAY, DEC. 3:

8 a.m. – 9 p.m. — Registration; DeVos Secchia Lobby
8 – 10 a.m. — Young Farmer Discussion Meet registration; DeVos Grand Gallery
10 – 10:20 a.m. — Young Farmer Discussion Meet competitors’ & judges’ briefing; DeVos Grand Gallery Rooms
10:30 – 11:30 a.m. — Young Farmer Discussion Meet, Sweet 16 round 1; DeVos Grand Gallery Rooms
11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. — District meetings; various Amway rooms (see above)
1:15 – 7 p.m. — Connecting Communities Showcase; DeVos Grand Gallery
1:15 – 7 p.m. — Michigan Foundation for Agriculture Agricultural Art Gallery showcase & voting; DeVos Grand Gallery
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. — Young Farmer Discussion Meet, Sweet 16 round 2; DeVos Grand Gallery Rooms
2:45 – 5:45 p.m. — Opening Delegate Session (virtual attendees join at 2:15 p.m.); DeVos Ballroom A — welcome; scheduled policies
2:45 – 4 p.m. — Young Farmer Excellence Award presentation & Discussion Meet Final Four announcement; DeVos Grand Gallery Room CD
6:15 – 7 p.m. — Consumers Energy Reception; DeVos Grand Gallery
7 – 9:15 p.m. — Leadership Banquet; DeVos Ballroom BCD — Young Farmer Discussion Meet finals; Young Farmer Award recognition; Educator of the Year Award; President’s Address; Young Farmer Discussion Meet & winner announcement
9:30 – 11 p.m. — President Bednarski Retirement Reception; Amway Ambassador Ballroom

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 4:

6 a.m. – 9 p.m. — Registration; DeVos Secchia Lobby
7:30 – 8:45 a.m. — AgriPac Breakfast, guest speaker Bill Ballenger; DeVos Ballroom BCD
7:45 – 8:15 a.m. — High School & Collegiate Discussion Meet registration; DeVos Grand Gallery
8:15 – 8:45 a.m. — High School & Collegiate Discussion Meet briefings: High School (DeVos Grand Gallery D); Collegiate (DeVos Grand Gallery A)
8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. — Michigan Foundation for Agriculture Agricultural Art Gallery showcase & voting; DeVos Grand Gallery
9 – 9:45 a.m. — High School & Collegiate Discussion Meet, round 1; DeVos Grand Gallery Rooms
9 a.m. – 12 p.m. — Children’s Museum Field Trip (pre-registration required); meet in DeVos Grand Gallery
9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. — Delegate Session (virtual attendees join at 8:30 a.m.); DeVos Ballroom A — nomination and elections of district, Young Farmer, Promotion & Education and at-large directors; scheduled policies; block voting
10 – 10:45 a.m. — High School & Collegiate Discussion Meet round 2; DeVos Grand Gallery Rooms
11:15 a.m. — High School & Collegiate Discussion Meet finalist announcement; DeVos Grand Gallery DE
11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. — High School & Collegiate Discussion Meet finals: High School (DeVos Grand Gallery DE); Collegiate (DeVos Grand Gallery AB)
12:45 – 2:30 p.m. — Member Engagement Lunch; DeVos Ballroom BCD — Key Club recognition; membership awards; High School & Collegiate Discussion Meet winners announced; Volunteer of the Year Award
2:30 – 6:30 p.m. — Michigan Foundation for Agriculture Agricultural Art Gallery silent auction; DeVos Grand Gallery
2:45 – 5:30 p.m. — Closing Delegate Session (virtual attendees join at 2:15 p.m.); DeVos Ballroom A — scheduled policies; block voting
5:30 – 6:30 p.m. — Reception; DeVos Grand Gallery
6:30 – 9 p.m. — Annual Banquet with guest speakers AFBF President Zippy Duvall & former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue; DeVos Ballroom BCD — Sonny Perdue’s address; Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award; Zippy Duvall’s address; Michigan Foundation for Agriculture Agricultural Art Gallery live auction