Olivia Gaines, a Caesar Rodney High School senior, has been chosen as this year’s Ambassador for the Delaware Farm Bureau.
In school, she is pursuing the animal science pathway and participates in many extracurricular activities. As the Delaware Farm Bureau Ambassador, she will also begin to attend events with the organization like the annual meeting, women’s committee events or the Delaware State Fair as a volunteer in the Delaware Farm Bureau food or informational booths to earn a $1,000 scholarship.
“It’s like promoting agriculture a lot. Ag gets a lot of bad reps from people, but it truly is a great thing. It’s very important. You need agriculture; it’s at the basis of everything,” she said. “I like being active in the industry and the state. This would be a great outlet for that.”
Gaines found her love for agriculture from her family farm in Camden. She also shows livestock, serves as the president for the Westville 4-H Club, is an active member of the FFA at CRHS and has leadership roles in her cross country, swim, lacrosse and track and field teams. She plans on attending medical school after college in hopes of becoming a nutritionist or OBGYN.
Last year, she received a Governor’s award for community service by completing more than 150 hours of community service activities such as volunteering to ring the Salvation Army bell during the holidays and cleaning up local beaches.
“I like to help other people. I feel like helping other people makes everything better. If I can help somebody else, that’s a good day,” she said. “And I really wouldn’t be the same person I am today if I had not been involved in 4-H and livestock showing. It taught me a lot of discipline and respect. It taught me empathy and determination.”
Delaware Farm Bureau State Women’s Committee Chair Mary B. Gooden said the ambassador program is another great way for youth to become involved in Delaware’s agriculture industry.
“The ambassador is a representative of, of course, the Delaware Farm Bureau, but also of Delaware agriculture. They’re just the younger generation as the older generation begins stepping down. They are carrying the word of agriculture,” Gooden said. “We have the ambassador program in place to send out the agriculture story to the public.”
Gaines will be the Delaware Farm Bureau ambassador throughout the 2020-2021 school year. Information and applications for next year’s ambassador program can be found online at defb.org.
