Earlier this month, Shelby Watson-Hampton joined SMADC as the new Director. Shelby and the SMADC Staff were excited to kick things off by hosting an event to welcome the Southern Maryland community into our offices for networking with a “Meet and Greet” Open House. Southern Maryland farmers, producers, agricultural organizations, elected officials and others with a vested interest in local agriculture were invited to attend.
Guests from Soil Conservation & Farm Bureau, and even a special visit from Mrs. Moo, Calvert County’s favorite Ag educator!
Over the course of the two days, we had over 50 attendees representing all five counties and all sectors of agriculture.
The event was an opportunity to talk with staff, pick up brochures and guides, and offer suggestions and ideas to SMADC. As attendees mingled, we had light food and refreshments featuring farm products from around Southern Maryland. Suggestions, ideas, and comments were shared. Perhaps most encouraging though, was the strong sense in the room of the local farming community coming together. Laughter was heard, and stories and hugs were shared. It was great to see so many people still holding a strong, vested interest in local agriculture.
Our youngest farmers during the open house!
And, we can’t forget to feature our youngest young farmers in attendance, pictured on the left. It was wonderful to meet the next generation of future farmers.
A big thank you to all the farmers, producers, and agricultural representatives who visited with us during our two-day “Meet and Greet” Open House. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting and visiting with you and we were very pleased to have representation from all five Southern Maryland counties. Because it was so successful, we plan to host a SMADC Open House every year.
If you could not make the open house you can still pose suggestions, comments, and ideas for SMADC here. We have some exciting new announcements coming soon – so stay tuned and make sure you subscribe to receive news and announcements!