Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Springfield, IL - Nearly 50 people showed their support and excitement for the Sangamon County Farm Bureau at the ground breaking ceremony on Wednesday, April 8th.  This historic moment took place at the construction site located at 2631 Beechler Ct. which is off of South Dirksen Parkway just north and west of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The building is expected to be completed and occupied by the end of October of this year.

This is a historic moment for the Sangamon County Farm Bureau. As a staple organization in Sangamon County for over 90 years they have been located at the North Dirksen facility for 45 of those years. Just as agriculture has seen change over the years they too have watched the north east side of Springfield change from a rural to the busy urban area.

President Mark Reichert shared his excitement with the crowd and gave acknowledgement to the past presidents for all the hard work. “The progress of this building initiative must be credited to past presidents Ken Metcalf and J.D. Sudeth and their boards. They laid out most of the groundwork in being able to get to this point.” He added, “This new building will allow Sangamon County Farm Bureau to portray a level of professionalism to the ag sector and offer technological advancements to the staff and membership, much in the same fashion as modern agriculture.  There have been many hours invested by staff, building committee, executive committee, and the current board, and are anxiously looking forward to the completion date at the end of October.”

Past and present board members were encouraged to take a picture with a golden shovel that symbolizes the construction of building for the new millennium. Past Presidents that showed their support included John Beatty, Ken Metcalf, JD Sudeth, Ron Schemmer, John Wilcox, Sam Snell, and Wayne Cross. In addition to the current board and committee members, there was affiliate organization support. Joe Pickrell, President of the Lincoln Land FS Board, shared the memorable moment with the Sangamon County Farm Bureau. Also, in attendance was Dale Hadden, District 10 IAA Director.

Jim Birge, Sangamon County Farm Bureau Manager, stated “This is an historical step for the Sangamon County Farm Bureau in many ways. The building has been a goal of the organization for nearly 6 years and to see construction begin is an exciting milestone.” Birge went on to say, “Technology and innovation have been the tools of success for many farmers and we are using those same tools to create this facility. During the planning phase our leaders sought to incorporate technology, functionality, and efficiency as our guiding purpose to ensure our membership will be able to reap the benefits of this facility for many years to come.”
Thank you to everyone who came and showed their support. It was a very memorable moment that will go down in Sangamon County Farm Bureau history.