Marlene
Strickland Named “ Woman Of The Year In Agriculture” For
2005
TALLAHASSEE --
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles H. Bronson today announced
that Marlene Strickland of Sarasota has
been named "Woman of the Year in Agriculture" for
2005.
"As one
of the state's most popular 4-H leaders and president of the
nation's largest beef industry organization for women, she has done
everything in her considerable power to promote
Florida
agriculture," Bronson said.
"She is a true leader with a long and impressive record of
service. Her vision has
helped guide Florida's beef
industry, and her work with young people has inspired a new
generation of agricultural leaders."
The
award, now in its 21st year, recognizes women who have made
outstanding contributions to Florida
agriculture. It is
sponsored by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services and the Florida State Fair Authority. Bronson is scheduled to
present the award to Strickland on February 9 during the opening-day
luncheon at the Florida State Fair in
Tampa.
Tickets for the event are available by calling the fairgrounds at
1-800-345-3247.
Marlene
Strickland was born in Sarasota in 1945
into a pioneer Florida farming
family. The pioneer
spirit is part of Strickland's makeup; she's tough and
enterprising. She grew
up working hard, helping out on her family's commercial cow-calf
ranch in eastern Sarasota
County. The family raised purebred
Brahmans and crossbreed cattle. After graduating from
Fort
Myers
High
School, she
married Don Strickland and together they started an electrical
contracting business, Land Electric, Inc., and began raising Angus
cattle in their spare time.
Along the way, Marlene Strickland also gave birth to two
daughters.
When
their daughters got old enough, the Stricklands signed them up for
4-H-and came on board themselves as volunteer leaders, heading up a
club they named the Ridin' Rednecks. Eventually the girls moved
on and went off to college, but the elder Stricklands stayed with
4-H. The couple thrived
in the organization; they were natural leaders and teachers. In 1989 Marlene Strickland
received 4-H's Volunteer of the Year Award and represented
Florida at the
National 4-H Conference in Washington,
D.C. Over the years she and Don
built a program so popular that there is now a waiting list to
join.
In 2002
4-H turned 100 years old.
Tradition is important in this venerable club, but leaders
like Marlene Strickland know how to keep activities fun, exciting,
and relevant to today's young people. The Ridin' Rednecks' recent
projects have included collecting food and furniture for hurricane
victims and setting up a pet-friendly shelter for families displaced
by the storms. Strickland has worked with 4-H youth to clean up and
enhance local parks, and she set up a workshop for kids to learn
about native plants, beach erosion, and beach conservation. She received considerable
media attention when her club helped
Sarasota's Reef
Ball Development Group sink 400-pound concrete balls into
Sarasota to
create reef habitat for marine life.
Strickland
says she believes in 4-H because it provides entertainment and
education, and because it allows families to focus on a common,
worthwhile goal and see progress. Today, Strickland is one of
the most recognized and successful leaders in
Florida 4-H,
and she continues to pour a tremendous amount of time and creativity
into the program.
But
Strickland has always had too much energy and too many ideas to
confine herself to just one organization. Running the Ridin' Rednecks
has prepared her well for the many other leadership roles she has
taken on in her communi ty and her industry.
In 1985
Strickland became a member of the Sarasota County CattleWomen's
Association and the Florida CattleWomen's Association. She served in every
leadership position available at the local level. At the state level, she
served as recording secretary, Florida Cook-Off chairperson, beef
promotion chairperson, membership chairperson, president-elect, and,
finally, president. In
2000 the Florida CattleWomen named her CattleWoman of the
Year.
Strickland
became involved with the CattleWomen at the national level, too. In
2005 she was elected president of American National CattleWomen,
Inc. (ANCW). The
mission of ANCW is to support women in the cattle industry and
educate consumers about the nutritiousness of beef. The organization sponsors
two very well-known projects: the National Beef Cook-off recipe
contest and the National Beef Ambassador Program, a public speaking
competition for high school students. As president, Strickland
made it her goal to learn as much as she could about the
organization's 2,000 members. The year of her presidency-2005-was a
transitional one in which the organization took a look at how it
could better help women keep pace with the industry. Strickland traveled around
the country, getting to know cattlewomen in every state and sharing
information about Florida
agriculture. She met
with congressmen and senators and worked to build up ANCW's
membership one woman at a time.
During
her 50 years in agriculture, Strickland has won admirers in every
sector of the industry.
Those who know her attribute her success to her keen
intelligence, strong work ethic, kindness, and sensitivity to the
needs of others. A
close friend, Dr. Tim Marshall, a professor in the Department of
Animal Sciences at the University of
Florida's
Institute of
Food and
Agricultural Sciences, describes her as having "the heart of a
mother, the work ethic of an ancient Roman soldier, and the ability
to reach all people with the message of
agriculture."
Marlene
Strickland lives in Sarasota and
enjoys spending time with her husband, daughters, and four
grandchildren. Every
year she reads to local kindergarten classes on Ag Literacy Day and
conducts livestock tours at the Sarasota County
Fair.
Previous
winners of the "Woman of the Year in Agriculture
Award"
2004
Martina "Teena" Borek of Homestead
2003
Jennie Lee Zipperer of Fort
Myers
2002
Annette
Barnett
Land of
Branford
2001
Barbara Carlton of
Sidell
2000
Helen Houck of Perry
1999
Vina Jean Banks of Balm
1998
Nancy Gurnett
Hardy of Winter
Haven
1997
Gertrude "Trudy" Carey of Hillsborough
County
1996
Norma Stokes of Highlands
County
1995
Louve "Vee" Frierson Platt of Clewiston, and Patricia Robbins of
Miami 1994 Anne Wardlaw Dickinson of Frostproof 1993 Sarah W. Bailey
of St. Johns County 1992 Carol C. Murphy of Volusia County 1991 Ruth
M. Tucker of Brevard County 1990 Jeanette Barthle of Pasco County
1989 Belle Jeffords of Alachua County 1988 Carolyn Reed Kempfer of
Osceola County 1987 Dorothy Conner Shipes of Lake County 1986 Ruth
Wedgworth of Belle Glade 1985 Jo Ann Smith of Marion
County
For more
information about the Woman of the Year in Agriculture
Award,
visit:
http://www.florida-agriculture.com/agwoman/index.htm
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