The November members meeting was held at the Oakland Christian Church Community Center. Dinner consisted of fried chicken, three bean salad, mac and cheese, rolls and an assortment of deserts.
Our chapter’s guest speaker for the meeting was Julia Hillegass, City of Suffolk Agriculture Specialist. Julia has been with the City since January of this year and has been in the agricultural field since childhood. She grew up on a small farm in Virginia Beach. One of her primary objectives is promoting balance between small homestead farms and the large commodity farmers (peanuts, cotton, soybeans, etc.). Of concern is the loss of acreage to farming, again, a balance between developmental needs and land preservation.
She highlighted the fact that March is National Agricultural month. There are several events being discussed. She encouraged members to use the Farmers’ Markets | Visit Suffolk Virginia website to find Farmer’s Markets and local growers who sell directly to the public.
She spoke about the K-5 STEM program at Booker T Elementary school as a first in Virginia. The STEM program is encouraging ag-related topics. Birdsong Peanuts is one of the program’s sponsors.
She also briefly discussed the importance of engaging the City when there is damage to property, especially during construction. Timely reporting is important to ensure issues can be properly and promptly resolved.
Julia’s contact information is jhillegass@suffolkva.us, 757-514-4044.
Two new members were sworn in during the meeting by President Chris Ferguson. They were James Bull (left) and Austin Culp (right). Welcome to the chapter gentlemen!
