FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 2, 2012 

Contact: Melisa Augusto, 202-314-3191
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Tony Jarboe, 202-314-3104
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WASHINGTON (July 2, 2012) – Young adults from across the country spent a week in Bailey, Colo., on June 24-29, at National Farmers Union (NFU) All-States Leadership Camp.

“One of our priorities is to make sure the future of family farm agriculture and rural communities is in good hands,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. “This next generation is going to make a powerful impact in the society, their families and themselves.”

Farmers Union campers came together at the NFU Education Center to take part in cooperative activities and listen to several inspirational speakers. Campers heard from a Paralympic athlete with cerebral palsy and from an Olympic gold and bronze medal winner that didn’t give up, no matter how difficult the circumstances seemed.

At the education center, staff from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Influenza Division led campers through a simulated influenza outbreak. Cooperating as a group, campers played the role of a CDC investigative team and found the source of the mystery illness over the course of two days. The simulation taught campers about the role of public health and how to prevent and control illness through vaccination, or rapid treatment in the absence of vaccine, along with simple everyday measures such as hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes and staying home when sick.

“I routinely work with young adults and can say the youth attending our national camp are exceptional,” said NFU’s director of education, Maria Miller. “They excel as leaders and we are proud they represent the future voice of rural America.”

The camp, themed “Cooperation Across the Nation,” included presentations by William Nelson, president of CHS Foundation, and Andrew Jacobs, executive vice president of Co-Bank. NFU Vice President Claudia Svarstad also spoke to the group.

The campers elected six of their peers to represent them nationwide. Elected to the 2013 National Youth Advisory Council (NYAC) were: Mitchell Farmer-Lies of Belle Plaine, Minn., Patrick Swift of Ellendale, N.D., Briana Green of Fort Benton, Mont., Bre Stafford of Springfield, Colo., Cole Musland of Jamestown, N.D., William Felzien of Limon, Colo.

For more information, please visit http://nfu.org/about/education/all-states-leadership-camp.

National Farmers Union has been working since 1902 to protect and enhance the economic well-being and quality of life for family farmers, ranchers and rural communities through advocating grassroots-driven policy positions adopted by its membership.

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