ANNAPOLIS, MD (September 1, 2011) \u2013 Governor Martin O\u2019Malley today joined Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown and Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance to address state agricultural and volunteerism leaders in a visit to the 130th Maryland State Fair in Timonium.\u00a0 The combined Governor\u2019s Volunteer and Agriculture Day luncheon celebrated farming and volunteerism as the foundations of our state and the keys to a sustainable and civil future for all Marylanders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a strong connectivity between our goals for agriculture, civil service, and the more sustainable future that all of us prefer for our state.\u201d said Governor O\u2019Malley.\u00a0 \u201cThroughout the great Revolutionary history of our state, we have derived our strength here in Maryland from our shared sense that tomorrow can be better than today, and that each of us shares a personal responsibility to help make it so. The awards presented today reflect that same spirit of shared responsibility and commitment to the future of our great State.\u201d
\nAgriculture Day, traditionally held on the Thursday in the middle of the 11-day run of the Fair, highlights the strong agricultural traditions that make Maryland the strong state that it is today and that carry us forward to the future. It is celebrated with a luncheon gathering of agricultural leadership from around the state and a host of special, agriculture-related activities. Farming provides a healthy, local food supply, preserves beautiful, productive farmland, and strengthens rural economies for the benefit of all Marylanders.<\/p>\n
Traditionally, Governor\u2019s Volunteer Appreciation Day is held on the first Sunday of the Maryland State Fair. Governor\u2019s Volunteer Appreciation Day 2011 took place August 28. The Governor\u2019s Office on Services and Volunteerism hosted the Governor\u2019s tent, which provided space for state agencies and community exhibitors. Activities in the Governor\u2019s tent included karaoke, a face painting station, jewelry studio, visor making and a card design center. Special invitations were extended to returning military troops and their families to spend a day at the State Fair, compliments of the Governor. Requests for Governor\u2019s Volunteer Appreciation Day discount tickets poured in from across the state. Each ticket allowed a group of five people admission to the State Fair at a discounted rate, including discounts on the price of rides and the new State Fair Coupon Book.<\/p>\n
During the luncheon, Governor O\u2019Malley presented the 2011 Smart, Green and Growing Excellence in Agricultural Stewardship Award to Steven Ernst for his long history of sustainable, conservation farming.\u00a0 Governor O\u2019Malley also presented the 2011 Smart, Green and Growing Government Innovation Award to St. Mary\u2019s County Government for its work with citizens and other stakeholders to codify new laws to successfully save the county\u2019s agricultural heritage.<\/p>\n
During today\u2019s luncheon Secretary Hance welcomed Casey Miller, 16, named Miss Maryland Agriculture 2011 on August 26 at the Maryland State Fair.\u00a0 Miss Miller, of Clinton in Prince George\u2019s County, grew up on the 250-acre family owned Miller Farms, one of the oldest working farms providing fresh produce, soy beans, wheat, straw, flowers and close to the D.C. area. Her family\u2019s ancestors have farmed the land since 1840. She is entering her junior year at St. Mary\u2019s Ryken High School.<\/p>\n
Governor O\u2019Malley also recognized John Porcari, former Maryland Transportation Secretary and current U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation; Michael Scuse, Acting Under Secretary Farm and Foreign Agriculture Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; and Shawn Garvin, EPA Region 3 Administrator.
\nFollowing the luncheon, the State Fair leadership and other dignitaries toured the fairgrounds, visiting the Exhibition Hall, Farm and Garden Building, the Maryland State Fair Museum, and Natural Resources exhibits.\u00a0 Special activities included a slime lab, honey extraction demonstration, Master Gardener and Flower Day as well as traditional cattle and horse show, and a home arts show.
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2011 Smart Green and Growing Award Recipients<\/p>\n
Excellence in Agricultural Stewardship \u2013 Steve Ernst (Washington County farmer)<\/p>\n
Government Innovation \u2013 St. Mary\u2019s County Government<\/p>\n
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Follow MDA on Twitter @MdAgDept.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ANNAPOLIS, MD (September 1, 2011) \u2013 Governor Martin O\u2019Malley today joined Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown and Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance to address state agricultural and volunteerism leaders in a visit to the 130th Maryland State Fair in Timonium.\u00a0 The combined Governor\u2019s Volunteer and Agriculture Day luncheon celebrated farming and volunteerism as the foundations of Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release","tag-state-fair"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=651"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":652,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651\/revisions\/652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}