GROWMARK recently hired Sabrina Burckiewicz to serve as its external communications manager.
She grew up in Illinois on a family farm before attending community college and Illinois State University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in public relations and political science. She also completed her master’s at Illinois State University in communication science.
Burkiewicz started working for a local nonprofit organization in Bloomington, Illinois, after graduating. She oversaw community relations, evaluating and addressing the needs of the homeless population in Bloomington, and gauging community issues.
“I was the media-relations person, but I picked up all sorts of job responsibilities along the way,” Burckiewicz said. “I spent nine years there and ended up as the vice president of marketing and retail operations.”
Following that position, Burckiewicz was looking for a fresh start. A friend sent her the marketing manager position with Illinois Farm Bureau, and she decided to apply. She took that job, but in January 2017 another position within Illinois Farm Bureau opened. She was offered a new position managing the social media presence of Illinois Farm Bureau.
“Coming back home to agriculture brought tears to my eyes,” Burckiewicz said. “My family doesn’t farm anymore, so working in agriculture takes me back to those memories of time spent with my grandparents. I loved talking with farmers at Farm Bureau events because several of them knew my family. It was a really special time for me when I came back to agriculture.”
Earlier this year, GROWMARK approached Burckiewicz to join their team, and she officially made the transition in June. She has already been involved in a historical project during her short time with the company.
“We recently moved to a new building, so I was in charge of planning all of the grand opening events and ceremonies to celebrate the move,” Burckiewicz said. “I got to delve into all the historical documents and learn the history of the company. It was a great opportunity to get to know all my fantastic coworkers, and I had a lot of fun doing it.”
