(Caption) 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.

May, 2008

(Caption) This year's Overall Winner, Sanju's Dhaba (left), samples salad from this year's Best Salad Winner, Buddy's.

THE FOURTH ANNUAL GREAT POTATO BOWL PLUS

Every year attendees of the Great Potato Bowl Plus are asked to vote for their favorite food item. The votes have been counted and this year’s winning establishments are: Sanju's Dhaba, best overall; Mystique, best creative potato dish; Buddy's, best salad; Mama Inez, best entrée; ISU Culinary Arts, best soup; and The Popcorn Shop, best dessert.

In addition to the winners, other restaurants that generously participated in this year’s Great Potato Bowl Plus includes the following: Bouillion Soup, Brass Rail, Sandpiper, Remo’s, Geraldine’s, Sandee’s Candee’s, Dutch Oven Delights, Elmer’s, Ma Barker’s Kitchen, and Perkins. According to Dennis Cook, with ON Semiconductors, one of this year's sponsors, “Choosing winners is more difficult than it sounds. We have a lot of fun with this every year. However, it is really hard to choose one recipe over another when they are all so good. Everyone raved about all the food.”

Good food seems to have led to good deeds as well. The event raised more money this year than ever before, and both the Salvation Army and the Idaho Food Bank received checks for $2,500. The impact of this year’s Great Potato Bowl Plus will actually have more impact than the dollars raised. According to Phil Joslin, CEO of Farm Bureau Insurance, another event sponsor, “You know it has been calculated that every dollar raised for the Idaho Food Bank purchases ten dollars worth of food. Given that ratio we had a great evening.”

This year marks the fourth consecutive year that this particular charity event has been undertaken. It was also the first year that Steele & Associates was involved as a sponsor. According to Jim Steele, “We owe all our success to the many volunteers who donated their time, to our generous area restaurants, our media partners, and to all the good folks of our community who supported the cause.”

Plans are already in the works for the Fifth Annual Great Potato Bowl Plus scheduled for next year.

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.”