“It seems I always knew I was going to be in broadcasting,” said John Winfield (Emeritus member, Madison, MS). “In the fifth grade, my teacher asked us to write a short paper on what we wanted to do when we grew up. I wrote my paper on being a radio announcer.” A few years later, he started hanging around the local radio station. “In 1965, I got my first job as the afternoon disc jockey, and the rest is history,” John said. His farm broadcasting adventure started August 15, 1982. He had been Radio News Editor at the Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service for four years doing radio programs and co-hosting a weekly agricultural news and market program on the state’s ETV stations. “I started as farm broadcaster at the Mississippi Network doing programs for approximately 50 radio stations in the state. The first week I was there, the owner sent me to New York to join a group of farm broadcasters to meet with ad agency buyers to talk about agriculture. I felt ill prepared, but I survived and met farm broadcasters from across the country. These guys introduced me to NAFB,” he added. “I joined and was a voting member until my retirement on June 30, 2017.” During those years, John attended hundreds of farmer meetings, agricultural company meetings and NAFB meetings. “There is no way to count the number of interviews, but they did fill a lot of time on a lot of programs. In the late 1980s, I decided to get more involved in NAFB and was elected Regional Vice President. Then in 1994, with the backing of my management, I ran for National Vice President, and was elected. My officer experience ended after serving as President in 1996 and Immediate Past President in 1997. I can only say that it was a great experience and honor to serve as an officer of NAFB.” During his year as President, the Executive Director resigned. That made his year even more exciting. “There are many great stories and memories from those years. Many are stories I will never tell (you know what I mean).” John emphasized, “Besides the meetings and the trips, my fondest memories of my career are the people I met and the friendships I made. NAFB is made of men and women intent on helping farmers and agriculture succeed. It is also a group of great individuals, many of whom I am proud to call friends. To those who were active during my time, it was great. To those too young, enjoy your career, enjoy NAFB. It will be a great ride.” Since his retirement last June, he says he’s done a lot of catching up on “Honey Do” items around the house and dealt with health issues. John concludes, “I am planning to find a charitable organization that works with the disadvantaged and less fortunate. My goal now is to pay back some of the many blessings I have received.” If you want to contact John, email him at jw46@me.com.
