Lewis
R. Riley
At our Annual CFO Luncheon on March 5, 2006, our guest speaker was Secretary
Lewis R. Riley, Maryland Department of Agriculture.
Lewis R. Riley was appointed Secretary of Agriculture on January 22, 2003 by
Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. He was previously appointed Secretary of Agriculture
by then-Governor William Donald Schaefer on May 17, 1994 and was re-appointed
by Governor Parris N. Glendening in May, 1995 and served as Secretary until
his retirement in December 1997. He is an active farmer, poultryman, and businessman
with more than 50 years experience. When time allows, he still helps out on Beaver
Run Farms, Inc.-the family farm managed by his son Quint. They raise 1,150 acres
of grain along with a swine, cattle and poultry operation located in Wicomico
County. As an F.F.A. member is high school, he was chosen Maryland's Star-State
Farmer in 1955, received the America's Farmer Degree in 1956 and was chosen as
Wicomico County's Most Outstanding farmer in 1961. Secretary Riley was named "Man of the Year" by the Maryland Grain Producers in July, 1996 and received
the Delmarva Poultry Industry's Distinguished Citizenship Award in April, 1997.
In
October, 2003 Secretary Riley was named
"Friend of the Industry" by the Maryland
Egg Council. He is a member of the Wicomico
County Farm Bureau. Prior to his appointment
as secretary, he served 25 years as an
elected official (12 in county and 13 in
General Assembly) and established a reputation
as a knowledgeable spokesman for the agriculture
industry. He and his wife Ginny are the
parents of three children; 5 grandchildren,
1 great grandson.
The
following is an excerpt from an article
published in
the Carroll County Times, Christian
farmer luncheon well attended - By
Carrie Ann Knauer on
March 5, 2006. Reprinted with permission.
click here
for full article.
In
his speech, Riley spoke of the importance
of setting a good example and contributing
to a family heritage through the way we
live our lives. It's by interacting with
their families that children first learn
about love, how to express themselves,
how to relate to others, how to forgive
and how to be forgiven, he said.
"Each
day of our lives we're developing a heritage," Riley
said. "We have to ask ourselves, is
it one that we want to hand down?"
Riley
said his favorite photograph is a picture
of his grandmother driving a mule cart
with him and three of his brothers in the
back. Some may look at that picture and
see a family that were victims of poverty,
Riley said, but that has never been his
view.
"[His
grandmother was] a benefactor of Christian
love, and you don't forget those things," he
said.
Riley
encouraged his audience to strive to make
each year better than the last, to take
simple steps such as to drop an old grudge,
to vow not to make a promise you can't
keep, to keep in touch more often with
family and friends.
"We're
all connected in humanity through our need
for one another," he said.
Russell
O'Quinn
At our Annual CFO Luncheon on March 5, 2005, our guest speaker was Russell O'Quinn.
Ranked as one of the top five test pilots in the USA and accomplished aircraft
designer. Mr. O'Quinn shared his riveting story blending humor and drama of his
life and his coming to know Jesus into a captivation and compelling case for
aiming high in life.
Dr.
Ben Carson
" Know
the love of Christ, that you may be filled to the measure 
Joni
Eareckson Tada