BY ROBERT OVERMANN

With Missouri Farm Bureau’s impending centennial anniversary on March 24, 2015, I had an opportunity this summer to work on a project no Farm Bureau intern or staff has embarked on before me — I was tasked, in part, with telling the storied history of Missouri Farm Bureau’s first 100 years.

At first, it was just a job. I researched, I wrote, I scoured through boxes of old photographs, then I wrote some more. I sorted and I annotated, and then tried my best to tell the story I was discovering to others.

As the ebb and flow of the organization became clearer to me, I began to see the personalities behind Farm Bureau’s history. While many of these persons are now deceased, I was able to follow their careers and, more importantly, their contributions to fellow Missourians through pages of history books and Missouri Farm Bureau News.

Fortunately, some of these personalities are still alive, and I was able to speak with them firsthand. I was able to hear directly from them how they impacted the future of Farm Bureau and the lives of others. They told their tales better than I ever could, and that, to me, is what brings Farm Bureau’s past to life. It’s what made my experience so vibrant, and I hope I told their stories well.

So, I would like to dedicate my time working on the publication to the Jayne Glosemeyers of the world. Jayne forsook 15 years of her life to stand up for 1,000 of her neighbors in the federal court system, many of whom she had surely never met before. The Steve Raulstons, so vital to Farm Bureau. Steve spent his career serving Missourians in times of disaster, delivering life insurance disbursements to grieving family members and comforting others who lost their homes to a fire. Finally, the Max Oylers, growing in number. Max spent more than half a century serving agriculture, without recompense, as a county Farm Bureau board member.

These people are not wealthy executives, nor seekers of the spotlight. They are the bread and butter of Farm Bureau, no different than you or I. Farm Bureau’s membership roster is full of these personalities, deceased and living, who have made the organization what it is today.

Regardless of whether you’re a member or not, I hope you’ll take the time to look around you and appreciate what your fellow Missourians are doing in service to one another. These people can be found in the unlikeliest of places — at your place of work, your circle of friends, at the grocery store and perhaps even in your own household. Many of those who make the most significant impacts are too busy working on the behalf of others to be heralding their own efforts to anyone who will listen.

Though my internship with Missouri Farm Bureau has come to an end, I have heard some incredible stories. I have met some fascinating characters who aren’t basking in the limelight, but, in my opinion, certainly deserve to.

Listen to those around you, especially those working quietly on your behalf without ever having met you. They ought to be recognized, and their stories need to be told.

Robert Overmann, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., is a student at Truman State University and a summer intern for Missouri Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization.