LEXINGTON, KY - For those looking for good deals on farm and lawn equipment, the Fayette County Farm Bureau Federation (FCFB) Farm Equipment Consignment Auction has become a premiere event among spring auctions. For those looking to go to college, it's something of a Godsend.
This year was no exception as thousands showed up at the Kentucky Horse Park on March 20 to buy and sell everything from tractors to garden tillers. According to Carrie Johnson, executive director of FCFB, more than 1,200 people registered to bid on approximately 1054 pieces of equipment this year.
But the annual auction serves another purpose than just helping those with used equipment to sell of those looking to buy. The reason for the sale is to help Fayette County students further their education by way of an annual scholarship given by the organization.
To date, more than a half-a-million dollars have made their way into students' pockets to the tune of $20,000 per scholarship.
Johnson said all of the money earned goes toward the scholarship fund. This year total gross sales came to about $819,000 and gross commissions totaled about $65,000 which means the scholarship fund will get about $50,000 after expenses.
"One hundred percent of the proceeds that we make from this sale go to our scholarship program to give to high school seniors in Fayette County; that's why we do it" she said. "We have given 25 scholarships so far since the FCFB Education Foundation was formed in 1993."
Each award is given to the chosen student in increments each semester by way of an application process.
The sale itself has grown in popularity as evident from this year's numbers. The other amazing thing about the event is it is completely managed through volunteer labor. Johnson estimates that at least 75 helpers are around at any given time.
Even in bad economic times, the sale is proving to be a success. In 2009 the sale enjoyed its best year ever said Johnson.
"I think people are coming and looking for good used equipment. Rather than going and buying new, they are shopping and trying to save a dollar," she said. "More of the equipment sold last year than maybe in years past." While that is a win-win situation for buyers and seller, the students that benefit from the scholarship money are the real winners. Johnson said she is compiling information about those that have won in the past recognizing that many have gone on to be successes in areas ranging from veterinarian medicine to broadcast journalism.
One such former student and scholarship recipient is Sarah Lane who graduated from high school in 1999 and went on to attend and graduate from Brigham Young University.
Lane grew up on a farm and currently works in marketing for the U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) which is the national governing body for the equestrian sport. If it sounds familiar it could be because of the publicity the state has received as host of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games coming to the Horse Park in September.
Lane said the scholarship she received was instrumental in her getting her college degree and going on to her current position after working as a broadcast journalist at local television station WLEX.
"I knew it was something I wanted to reach for and a goal I set for myself," she said of going to college. "It was a huge weight off to know that I would be able to focus on school and less on holding down a job with long hours in addition to school. So, it freed me up to a large extent so I could focus more on my studies and for me that had a huge value."
Lane added that the Fayette County program is not only a model for Farm Bureau scholarships in other counties but as a model for Farm Bureaus across the nation.
"There really are very few programs that can rival a $20,000 college scholarship," she said. "If you think about how it takes a village to raise a child, Fayette County Farm Bureau is that village. They become vested in who you are as a person and what your successes will be. They surround you and become sort of your village that you take with you even in spirit to school. So you know there are these people who are rooting for you and supporting you and you don't want to let them down."
Lane also said that the board that oversees the scholarship fund is kind and gracious enough to let a student pick their college even if it is out of state but she always knew she would come back.
"Farm Bureau wants to know what your plans are and what your plans are concerning the farming industry and how you plan to give back. It was always a part of my plan that I was coming right back to Kentucky." she said. "I grew up on a farm so that life has always been a part of who I am." Besides her work at the USEF, Lane and her husband have a small farming operation next to her parent's farm.
In addition to the four-year scholarship FCFB will award this year to a high school senior, the auction will also fund, for the first time a two-year $2,500 vocational-technical scholarship to be given to a Fayette County student seeking a two-year vocational-technical degree. Recipients will be announced later this year. That award will be available to students 18 or over so that in the event they may have lost their job and are returning to school to learn a new trade, the scholarship could assist in that endeavor according to Johnson.