12/9/2021

Rotarians Tyler Carter of Carter Bank and Al Flora of Sleep Safe Beds (both left) stand with Ferrum student Madison Cogle ’23 (center), Director of Career Services Leslie Holden, and Ferrum student Lauren Ries ’22 (far right) at the “Little Food Pantry” at Ferrum Faith Assembly of God Church.

As part of the “Feed 10 Million Challenge,” the Rotary Club of Rocky Mount and Ferrum College’s Rotaract Club have partnered to end local food insecurity.

In November, the Rotary Club installed a converted newspaper vending machine at Faith Assembly of God Church in Ferrum, located just down the street from the College. The “Little Food Pantry” will be stocked with food for anyone in the community who needs a free meal. Ferrum’s Rotaract Club will work with other clubs on campus to collect food and items to restock the pantry. 

“The Rotary Club of Rocky Mount is excited to partner with the Ferrum College Rotaract Club,” said Rotary Club president and Ferrum alumnus Joey Cornwell ’02. “We have not had a chance to collaborate on a project yet, and are excited to see how this Little Pantry impacts the Ferrum community.”

So far, the Rocky Mount Rotary Club has installed six Little Food Pantries throughout Franklin County. The boxes are located at Glade Hill Rescue Squad, Snow Creek Rescue Squad, Heavenly Manna Food Bank, Essig Center, and Faith Assembly of God Church. Additional boxes are planned for two more locations in January.

“The Rotarians and the College’s Rotaract members volunteered a few hours to set up this pantry and will have numerous opportunities to add to those hours as they work to collect food to keep it filled for those in need,” said Cornwell. “The Little Pantry, volunteer hours, and the initial donation of food that’s been collected has resulted in 3,852 meals toward the ‘Feed 10 Million Challenge’ that is a major initiative for Rotary Zones 33 and 34 of Rotary International. We’ve been so humbled by Franklin County’s generosity to fill a need and keep these Little Pantry boxes stocked.”

To date, the Rotary Club of Rocky Mount and its “Moo Crew” have provided over 23,000 meals for folks in Franklin County. The Moo Crew purchases and delivers gallons of milk to local food pantries.

“Rotaract is all about the community, and I’m glad we have been able to help out again this year,” said Ferrum senior Lauren Ries ’22. “We wanted the local community to have an accessible way to get food. [Director of Career Services] Leslie Holden worked out all the details, and Madison [Cogle ’23] and I were more than willing to help set-up and coordinating re-stocking. I hope we are able to do even more for Ferrum College and the Ferrum community next semester.”

Ferrum College campus and community members are encouraged to donate food. Please drop off food items with Leslie Holden in lower Roberts Hall, room 2. See a list of items needed here.

Read more about the Rotary Club’s endeavor in this WSLS article.

Learn more about Ferrum College Rotaract Club by visiting the Student Activities page and clicking on “Service.”

L to R: Madison Cogle ’23 – 1st place, Ryan Gobble ’24 – finalist, and Laurynn Hackett ’23 – finalist.

11/17/2021

Ferrum College students commanded quite the presence when they took three of the top four places during the 14th Annual Collegiate Young Farmers Discussion Meet held on November 5 in Lynchburg, VA. 

Ferrum College junior Madison Cogle ’23, from Lewis County, WV, won first place, which entitled her to a $500 scholarship from Southern Farm Life Insurance Company and Virginia Farm Bureau Federation (VFBF) Young Farmers. She will receive a trip to watch the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Young Farmers & Ranchers Discussion Meet at their annual convention in Atlanta, GA, in January 2022. She will also receive a travel package to attend February’s AFBF Young Farmers Collegiate Discussion Meet in Louisville, KY.

Cogle is majoring in agriculture science with emphases in equine studies and animal science. She stated that “the end goal is vet school.” Cogle is also Ferrum’s first-ever Beckham Presidential Scholarship recipient.

Ferrum College junior Lauren Hackett ’23 and sophomore Ryan Gobble ’24 were also named finalists. Gobble and Hackett each received $150 from VFBF. Hackett is majoring in agriculture with an emphasis in animal science, and Gobble is a secondary education major with an emphasis in agriculture education. 

All three Ferrum College students are members of the Boone Honors Program, and officers in the Ag Club (Hackett is president, Gobble is vice president, and Cogle is secretary). Cogle is also a member of Franklin County Young Farmers. 

“I was very surprised and not at all expecting to win, but I was going for the experience and the opportunity to connect and communicate with other students in agriculture- winning was just the cherry on top,” said Cogle. “I loved talking with so many other students that had very different perspectives within the field of agriculture. I also greatly appreciate the scholarship, and I am looking forward to the travel opportunities and the possibilities to connect with other young agriculturalists.”

This year’s meeting, which was sponsored by VFBF, included four topics: COVID-19 challenges, preventive approaches to farm safety, renewable agricultural practices, and how to best enhance Farm Bureau Young Farmers Program participation. The competitors were judged on discussion skills, understanding of the agricultural issues, and ability to build consensus. 

Learn more about Ferrum’s ag science program here.

Learn more about the Virginia Farm Bureau Young Farmers here.