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07/20/2010
A TRACK RECORD FOR CHARITY
Above: The 2010 Farm Bureau Insurance Relay For Life of Pocatello team When the Farm Bureau Insurance Relay For Life of Pocatello team announced its 2010 fundraising goal of $10,000 last April, some were skeptical. “People were a little nervous because the local economy is still recovering,” said team captain Brenda Swindle. But by the time of the Relay’s July 17 closing ceremonies, the Farm Bureau Insurance team had raised $11,690 for the fight against cancer and captured the Top Fundraising Team award for the fifth consecutive year. In light of businesses and individuals still tightening their proverbial belts, Swindle put her faith in her fellow Farm Bureau Insurance employees when she set the goal. “I did so keeping in mind that the economy wasn’t strong, but the charitable spirit of our employees was.” Her sentiment was echoed by the team’s co-captain, Melinda Johnson. “When we set the goal, we looked at our employees' track record for charitable giving.” That track record included four consecutive Top Fundraising Team awards for Farm Bureau Insurance Relay teams from 2006 to 2009. Farm Bureau Insurance CEO Phil Joslin says that this shows “our employees feel strongly about the Relay’s goals of honoring cancer survivors, paying tribute to those lost to the disease, and raising money to help fight cancer.” These goals, not the Top Fundraiser award, are what drive the team’s efforts. “I joined the team this year with the memory from last year of an older gentlemen on crutches who slowly made his way around the track at 3:00 AM,” says team member and underwriting assistant Lindsay Kopp. Jennifer Lowrey, a proofreader, says she joined the team because she lost her grandmother to cancer and she “wants to do whatever I possibly can to help find a cure.” Underwriter Marci Hamann feels that participating in the Relay is a gift to those who have lost their battle with cancer, to their families, and to current cancer patients. “It’s the least I can do,” she says. Jenny Losee, an underwriting coordinator, says “this year’s Relay hit a little bit closer to home for me. A young girl I knew died this year from cancer. She was a doll and I felt like I could try to do something for her and her family, even though it wasn’t very much at all.” Audit supervisor Linda Peterson participates in the Relay for herself as a cancer survivor, and also in memory of her husband who lost his battle with cancer. Swindle admits that it took longer than usual to reach this year’s goal given the economic climate. “But we think future Farm Bureau Insurance Relay teams will be able to meet their fundraising goals because time and again our employees rise to the occasion.”
The 2010 Farm Bureau Insurance Relay For Life team members were: Becky Clemens, Michelle Coffin, Jessica Coito, Michelle Corbridge, Cara Dyer, Marci Hamann, Dana Haskett, Melinda Johnson, Lindsay Kopp, Jenny Losee, Jennifer Lowrey, Tina Nelson, Linda Peterson, and Brenda Swindle.
05/16/2010
THE SIXTH ANNUAL GREAT POTATO BOWL PLUS
Above: Ron Baune and Lindsay Kopp, two Potato Bowl 2010 volunteers from Farm Bureau Insurance
A $2,500 check was presented to both the Idaho Foodbank and Family Services alliance thanks to the efforts of the following Pocatello restaurants: Buddy’s, Chartwells, Cooking Dutch, Costco, Dutch Oven Delights, Elmer’s, Frog Hollow, ISU Culinary Arts, Johnny B. Goode’s, Mama Inez, Perkin’s, The Popcorn Shop, Remo’s, RaNae’s Rolls, Soup Bowl, Starbucks, Taste of India and Nepal, Texas Roadhouse, Uncle Jim’s, and Wing-N-Diner. GPOD of Idaho in Shelley donated over 1,000 pounds of Russet Burbank potatoes for the event.
This money will help the Foodbank provide food to the less fortunate in our communities and enable Family Services Alliance to reach out to a few more people in crisis.
Each year, Great Potato Bowl attendees vote on their favorite dishes in several categories. The votes from this year's 1,500 attendees have been counted, and the results are:
Best Overall: Soup Bowl Best Side Dish: Taste of India & Nepal Best Entree: Kowloon Express Best Potato Dish: I.S.U. Culinary Arts Best Dessert: Cooking Dutch Best Soup: Frog Hollow
Farm Bureau Insurance, along with ON Semiconductor and Steele Marketing Communications, has been a proud sponsor of the Great Potato Bowl Plus for the past three years.
11/30/2009
19TH ANNUAL CHRISTMAS IN THE NIGHTTIME SKIES
The 19th annual Christmas in the Night Time Skies drew more people and collected more toys than ever. An estimated crowd of at least 4,000 donated 1,912 toys - 500 more toys than last year - for less fortunate children in our community.
Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Idaho has been a proud sponsor of Christmas in the Night Time Skies since 1996.
08/24/2009
FARM BUREAU MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY OF IDAHO RELAY FOR LIFE TEAM WINS FOURTH CONSECUTIVE “TOP TEAM FUNDRAISER OVERALL”
For the past three years, the Farm Bureau Insurance Relay for Life team has won the “Top Team Fundraiser Overall” at the Relay for Life, the signature fundraising event for the American Cancer Society.
Given the economic events of the past year – the financial meltdown, the stock market plunge, the shrinking 401k plans – just raising the minimum suggested amount for each team member, $100, would have been an accomplishment for this year’s Relay team.
Despite the palpable economic gloom, the team remained optimistic and resolved to move forward with its fundraising efforts. Last week, the fundraising results were announced for the 2009 Relay for Life. For the fifth consecutive year, the Farm Bureau Insurance team won the “Top Team Fundraiser Overall.” This year’s team raised $8,667.79, more money than it’s ever raised before and more than twice the amount raised by this year’s second place team.
But taking first place isn’t what motivates the team. Each team member has been touched in some way by cancer. “I lost my mother to cancer when I was two,” says team member Jamie Hess. “If I can help one person live one day longer to spend with their family, it’s worth every penny spent.”
Team co-captain Cara Dyer initially didn’t want to participate in the relay this year because of the work involved and the time it took her to recover from the all-night event. Then she thought of the Survivors Lap. “To look at those survivors… and those still living with cancer, all ages and races… That’s what motivates me. My little bit of discomfort is nothing compared to what they are going through fighting for their lives.”
Another team co-captain, Michelle Coffin, participates every year because she lost one of her best friends to cancer. “I don’t want to lose more,” she says.
Brenda Swindle, a third co-captain, has also seen first-hand too many people who have suffered from cancer, and this makes her want to “help however I can to stop the suffering.”
The credit for their fundraising success, according to the team, belongs to the agents and employees at Farm Bureau Insurance. “The fundraising at Farm Bureau Insurance shows just how much everyone feels about this cause,” says Dyer. “The Farm Bureau family is amazing and generous with their donations.”
Melinda Johnson, a fourth team co-captain, agrees. “I’m very thankful I work at a company with so many people who are willing to give their time and money.”
The 2009 Farm Bureau Insurance "Wonder Women" Team:
Jamie Hess Loni Chacon Michelle Coffin - Team Co-Captain Cara Dyer - Team Co-Captain Marci Hamman Melinda Johnson - Team Co-Captain Lindsay Kopp Tiffany Lopez Denise McGovern Brock Nichols Linda Peterson Brenda Swindle - Team Co-Captain Tari Wells Jamie Wilson
May, 2009 The 2009 Great Potato Bowl Plus!
The 2009 Great Potato Bowl Plus!
ISU Culinary Arts served a seafood dish in a roll
Twenty-three Pocatello area restaurants (and the Pocatello Costco’s bakery) helped raise $5,000 for the Idaho Foodbank and Family Services Alliance at the 2009 Great Potato Bowl Plus.
The money raised will help the Foodbank provide more food to the less fortunate in our community and enable Family Services Alliance to reach out to a few more people in crisis.
This year’s participating restaurants were: Buddy’s, Chartwells, Costco, The Dining Room, Dutch Oven Delights, Elmer’s, Frog Hollow, Great Harvest, ISU Culinary Arts, J. Anna’s Bistro, Mama Inez, Molto Caldo Pizzeria, Perkins, The Popcorn Shop, RaNae’s Rolls, Remo’s, Starbucks, SugarBakers, Texas BBQ, Texas Roadhouse, Uncle Jim’s, Wing It, and Wing N Diner.
Each year, the Great Potato Bowl attendees vote on their favorite dish in several categories. The votes from this year’s 1,500 attendees have been counted, and the results are:
Farm Bureau Insurance, along with ON Semiconductor and Steele and Associates Marketing Communications, has been proud to sponsor this event for the past two years.
July, 2008
Above: Farm Bureau Insurance's 2008 Relay For Life Team, the "Spooky Witches"
Purple Reign: Farm Bureau Insurance Takes First Place At Relay For Life THREE Years Straight
For the third year in a row, Farm Bureau Insurance’s Home Office Relay For Life team raised more money for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life marathon than any other Pocatello area team.
Farm Bureau’s first place team raised $8500 this year, almost $2000 more than the second place team. A total of 105 teams participated in this year’s overnight walk at ISU’s Davis field on July 11-12.
The money, donated by Farm Bureau Insurance employees, was raised by a variety of team-sponsored events including a raffle, potato bar lunch, jeans day, a used media sale, and sales of a cookbook containing employee recipes.
Farm Bureau Insurance’s team included Denise Baune, Ron Baune, Michelle Coffin, Cara Dyer, Kimmie Flores, Dana Haskett, Tina Nelson, Bonnie Nipper, Misty Ranere, Susan Wells, Melinda Johnson (team co-captain), and Brenda Swindle (team captain).
The Relay For Life, known for its purple ribbons and “Power of Purple” slogan, celebrates cancer survivorship and raises money for research and programs of the American Cancer Society.
October, 2007
LIFE LESSONS FROM THE GRIDIRON
Farm Bureau Agent Travis Fullmer Sponsors & Coaches A Little League Football Team
Travis Fullmer learned some valuable lessons on the Meridian High School and Boise state playing fields in the 1980’s.
Now, Travis is getting to impart what he learned to a new generation of young athletes as the sponsor and coach of a Boise little league football team.
The affable Fullmer, a three sport letterman (football, basketball, and track) at Meridian High School where he was part of a state champion football and track team, relishes the opportunity to coach this team of 25 fifth-graders in their second year of tackle football. “It’s very rewarding watching the kids grow from day to day,” Travis says. “You can actually see them improve at things on a daily basis.”
While Travis is teaching lessons he learned about leadership, teamwork and a work ethic while playing sports as a kid, he is also learning new lessons from the kids he’s coaching. “I’ve learned how everything you say and do sticks with them. You can make a tremendous difference in someone’s life. My coaches and I may be the only adult men that these kids have a positive relationship with.”
This is Travis’s second year as a little league coach, but he coached junior high football for two years and high school football for ten years. “Little league is scaled way down from high school varsity football,” Travis says. “So that’s a challenge. It’s a little less intense.” Travis left his teaching career three years ago to become a Farm Bureau agent. “The timing was great,” he says. “My son was the age to begin tackle football with Boise Noon Optimist Football.” Travis’s son Holden, 10, plays on his dad’s Farm Bureau team.
Travis’s own football career was promising after graduating from Meridian High School. He received numerous scholarship offers to play college football, but chose to stay in Boise. He played football for BSU for one year before injuries sidelined him and ultimately finished his career.
These days, Travis is optimistic about his team’s ability to build on last season’s momentum of weekly improvement. “I have 17 of 18 kids returning from last year’s team,” Travis says. “They’ve gained an average of 7-10 pounds since last year. We also have 8 new kids who didn’t play for us last year.”
The team will play six games this year. Practices—four days a week for an hour and a half— began on August 13th.“Our team is made up of some of the finest young boys you could ask for,” Travis says when asked about the upcoming season. “They may not be the biggest or the fastest, but they work extremely hard and love the game. This will assist them throughout their lives.”
Travis sees a parallel in his own life between being a successful agent and being a successful coach. “If you don’t have a competitive spirit,” Travis says, “you won’t be successful.” |
