North Carolina Farm Bureau‘s family of companies recently made a contribution of $100,000 to the Battleship North Carolina Generations Campaign, the effort to restore and save the USS North Carolina Battleship.
“Our contribution shows the deep pride and gratitude we have for those 362,500 North Carolinians who served and the 7,109 heroes who lost their lives in World War II,” said Larry Wooten, president of North Carolina Farm Bureau (NCFB). “We can be especially proud that 73 percent of those North Carolinians who served were from our state’s rural communities.”
Last summer, the NCFB Federation Board of Directors approved a giving campaign challenge to county Farm Bureaus, asking them to donate at a minimum level of $25 per each currently serving county board member. In all, 93 county Farm Bureaus collectively donated $54,826 to the campaign. The Federation challenge was to meet or exceed the North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company’s $25,000 donation.
Counties with full-board participation were presented with a unique plaque that incorporates original teak wood from the World War II battleship at the NCFB’s 80th Annual Meeting in December. Furthermore, participating counties, and the names of all board members serving at the time of the county gift, will be presented and entered into the permanent record of the Battleship North Carolina Commission.
– Jessica Leigh Brown
