NAFB Blog

New NAFB member, Shanna Harris (KKOW, Pittsburg, KS) was born and raised in southeast Kansas. “I grew up on a farm where my dad had row crops and cows. Eventually, he sowed all the row-crop ground to grass and increased his cattle herd size.” Shanna emphasized, “I had a passion for agriculture early on. I loved being on the tractor or out in pastures with my dad.” 

J. Bryan McGarvey (Neuhoff Media, WKOA/WASK, Lafayette, IN) has received a grant from the U.S. State Department to assist in establishing Africa’s first 24-hour agricultural-focused radio station. Bryan was a mentor for the Mandela Washington Fellowship International Reciprocal Exchange Program, part of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) in 2016, in conjunction with Purdue University.

​AgNet West farm news director Sabrina Hill was born just a few hours from the North Pole. North Pole, Alaska, that is. While she may be purely Californian now, every Christmas she channels some of her snowy beginnings, dons red velvet and white fur, and turns into Mrs. Claus.

“After almost 37 years with John Deere, I decided to take retirement and move to the next chapter in my life,” said Barry Nelson. “I consider myself very blessed and very fortunate to have had a great career with a great company. I also have had the tremendous opportunity to make great friends outside of Deere, in the industry, the media, and with farmers and ranchers throughout the U.S. and Canada.”

Orion Samuelson and his wife, Gloria, rode in the local parade as Grand Marshal on the final day of the festival. On New Year’s Day 2017, Orion will be alongside the Rose Parade route to co-host with Pam Minick RFD-TV’s live coverage of the parade on January 1.