| Keynote Speakers |
| 2010 ARWIA CONFERENCE |
| Click here to return to the ARWIA home page. |
| We are very excited to feature two wonderful women as our Keynote speakers: Andrea Lohr on Monday, March 1st and Ruth Hambleton on Tuesday, March 2nd. |
Andrea Lohr
With a strong southern accent, Andrea Lohr has been energizing audiences nationwide for
over 15 years. Originally from southwestern Kentucky, she now makes her home with
husband Matt and two children in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Matt and Andrea met at
a national FFA conference back in 1990 and were married five years later. She is a 1996 graduate of the
University of Kentucky, where she was an avid Wildcat fan! Andrea was very active in FFA and also served as
state FFA president. She went on to work with the National FFA Made For Excellence staff, the Washington
Leadership Conference staff, the Blast Off training staff, the Life Knowledge program, and as a coach for the
national FFA officers. Andrea taught middle school for four years before becoming a full time Mom in June of
2001.
Together Andrea and Matt travel and present dozens of joint keynotes, workshops, and leadership
conferences each year. Andrea has a masters degree in counseling from James Madison University and
currently serves on the Virginia State board of agriculture .
Matt’s parents, Matt and Andrea proudly carry on the farming tradition by continuing to run Lohr’s Farms,
which has been in the family for over 100 years. Their farming operation spans over 250 acres and includes
4 broiler houses, beef cattle, barley, alfalfa, soybeans, sweet corn and pumpkins. More information on Andrea
may be found on her Web site, www.andrealohr.com.
over 15 years. Originally from southwestern Kentucky, she now makes her home with
husband Matt and two children in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Matt and Andrea met at
a national FFA conference back in 1990 and were married five years later. She is a 1996 graduate of the
University of Kentucky, where she was an avid Wildcat fan! Andrea was very active in FFA and also served as
state FFA president. She went on to work with the National FFA Made For Excellence staff, the Washington
Leadership Conference staff, the Blast Off training staff, the Life Knowledge program, and as a coach for the
national FFA officers. Andrea taught middle school for four years before becoming a full time Mom in June of
2001.
Together Andrea and Matt travel and present dozens of joint keynotes, workshops, and leadership
conferences each year. Andrea has a masters degree in counseling from James Madison University and
currently serves on the Virginia State board of agriculture .
Matt’s parents, Matt and Andrea proudly carry on the farming tradition by continuing to run Lohr’s Farms,
which has been in the family for over 100 years. Their farming operation spans over 250 acres and includes
4 broiler houses, beef cattle, barley, alfalfa, soybeans, sweet corn and pumpkins. More information on Andrea
may be found on her Web site, www.andrealohr.com.
Ruth Fleck Hambleton, Founder of Annie’s Project and president of Annie’s Project -
Education for Farm Women, Not-For-Profit retired after 30 plus years with University of
Illinois Extension. She is a farmer’s daughter and married a farmer. Ruth and her husband
of 31 years raised three children on a 40 acre hog, beef and hay farm.
Ruth is a graduate of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale with a bachelors in Animal Industries and a
masters in Agricultural Economics. She is working with her sister and two brothers to help their father manage
his 320 acres of farmland in north central Illinois.
Hambleton remembered the struggles of her own mother, Annette Fleck, who died in 1997. She married into
a farm family with three generations living under one roof that worked a low-profitability enterprise in a time of
change. Annie, as Mrs. Fleck was known by her friends, kept the records for the farm, kept the enterprise
going, explored new products to keep the farm solvent and eventually marketed corn and soybeans. "She
died a wealthy woman and one who did things her way," recalled Hambleton. "As I looked at women coping
today, just as my mother had done over five decades, I knew we could help them. We could give them the
tools to handle the challenges."
"Being married to a farmer or being a woman in a male-dominated business has its challenges," said
Hambleton. "Some women have learned to handle this responsibility very well and are valuable mentors to
women who have not had it so easy. Others need the knowledge and skills that help them gain confidence.
"'Annie's Project' empowers farm women to be better business partners through networks and by managing
and organizing critical information."
Education for Farm Women, Not-For-Profit retired after 30 plus years with University of
Illinois Extension. She is a farmer’s daughter and married a farmer. Ruth and her husband
of 31 years raised three children on a 40 acre hog, beef and hay farm.
Ruth is a graduate of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale with a bachelors in Animal Industries and a
masters in Agricultural Economics. She is working with her sister and two brothers to help their father manage
his 320 acres of farmland in north central Illinois.
Hambleton remembered the struggles of her own mother, Annette Fleck, who died in 1997. She married into
a farm family with three generations living under one roof that worked a low-profitability enterprise in a time of
change. Annie, as Mrs. Fleck was known by her friends, kept the records for the farm, kept the enterprise
going, explored new products to keep the farm solvent and eventually marketed corn and soybeans. "She
died a wealthy woman and one who did things her way," recalled Hambleton. "As I looked at women coping
today, just as my mother had done over five decades, I knew we could help them. We could give them the
tools to handle the challenges."
"Being married to a farmer or being a woman in a male-dominated business has its challenges," said
Hambleton. "Some women have learned to handle this responsibility very well and are valuable mentors to
women who have not had it so easy. Others need the knowledge and skills that help them gain confidence.
"'Annie's Project' empowers farm women to be better business partners through networks and by managing
and organizing critical information."
ruth hambleton
