The Buckeye annual meeting is coming right up on Saturday, Jan. 19 at Fortuna’s River Lodge Conference Center. This year’s event includes an interesting and entertaining agenda.

The Buckeye is fortunate to be able to present two excellent speakers. Paul Wenger, California Farm Bureau president will be the guest speaker at the business meeting portion of the event. He will be talking about current issues and updates that affect our members.

During the dinner, keynote speaker Jeff Fowle will share his humorous and educational outlook about empowering farmers, ranchers and foresters to share their stories effectively through social media platforms. He co-founded Just Farmers that utilizes social media platforms and diverse demographics to initiate and foster dialogues with consumers by sharing food stories from the plate back to the farm. Just Farmers’ primary focus on is teaching others how to have productive conversations and successfully engaging individuals with opposing points of view.

Andy and Sandy Westfall will be recognized as the 2013 recipients of The Buckeye Stewardship Award in recognition of exemplary care and management of ranch resources - balancing ecology, economics and natural beauty in the finest tradition of family ranching. Andy and Sandy had their ranch beginnings in 1989 and continue to manage their property for grazing and timber production.

”The Westfall’s epitomize the values and commitment to the land that we strive to honor with our Stewardship Award,” said Buckeye chairman Gary Rynearson. Andy, with Sandy’s help, published the book, Humboldt Heartland, chronicling the life, work and challenges of working family ranches. “We greatly appreciate their efforts in memorializing the people, places and our way of life in Humboldt County.” Andy was a cofounder of The Buckeye, former chairman and served on the board of directors.

The business meeting will begin at 4:30 p.m. and be followed by a barbecued New York steak dinner. The evening will culminate with both a live auction and silent auction offering a host of items in all price ranges. The auction will give members and guests many opportunities to not only purchase some great items, but also help The Buckeye raise funds for the organization to carry on it’s important work of protecting open space and family ranch land values on California’s North Coast. Humboldt County 1st district supervisor Rex Bohn will be the auctioneer.

For more information, visit The Buckeye at www.buckeyeconservancy.org or call Buckeye executive director Johanna Rodoni at 725-8847.