Prayer Breakfast at 2008 World Ag Expo is a Vision in Agriculture
TULARE, Calif.— This year’s annual World Ag Expo Prayer Breakfast, Wednesday, Feb. 13 at Heritage Complex Banquet Hall, will feature a variety of speakers who will emphasize the importance of faith and family within the context of the agricultural community.
The theme for this yearÂ’s festivities is, "Vision in Agriculture."
Like last year, there will be two seatings for the popular breakfast Â- the first at 6:30 a.m. and the second follows at 8:30 a.m. The first seating usually draws large numbers of Expo exhibitors and volunteers, while the second seating attracts Expo visitors and young people from throughout the valley.
Ben Yale from Ohio, a noted attorney who works with numerous agricultural businesses and organizations, especially those related to the dairy industry, will be the keynote speaker. Also on the program, representing the farm families will be Richie Shehadey and family of Fresno, a well-known name in San Joaquin Valley farming circles.
Yale has a national law practice and is licensed in New Mexico, Texas and Ohio and works in state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. In recent years his work has been almost entirely dairy related representing clients from Coast to Coast since 1973.
His family had part ownership in a dairy and farmed in Ohio. They were part of a small cooperative that later became Milk Marketing Inc., which later merged to form Dairy Farmers of America.
When his travel schedule allows, Yale teaches an adult Sunday school class and has produced a lecture series, "Understanding Jesus in the Gospels," which he presents the person of Christ in the context of history, lifestyles and culture of biblical times. He plans on making the series available in video via the Internet. He is also working on a book from the series, "Kings, Casears, and the Christ: Understanding Jesus in the Kings of Judah." He reads several Greek dialects, and also studied Spanish, Russian and Chinese.
He does a lot of lobbying for the dairy industry interests on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. He works with Dairy Producers of New Mexico and in addition to lobbying and litigation he has formed several dairy cooperatives. Three of the largest are Select Milk Producers in the Southwest, Continental Dairy Products in the Mideast and Lone Star Milk Producers in the Southwest and Southeast.
He is a graduate of Yale University with a degree in linguistics, never thinking he would be a dairy lawyer. His first job out of college was selling calculators and a "wrong" address led him to the contact that changed the direction of his lifeÂ’s work. In retrospect, Yale saw it as one of those divine appointments in life. He received his JD from Ohio Northern University.
Yale and his wife of 35 years have two grown children.
This year the prayer breakfast will involve members of Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapters from the region. Mike Mederos, FFA adviser at Tulare Union High School is the liaison for the event at the high school level.
Tickets are $10 each and tables of 8 for $100 and must be purchased in advance. Tickets are available from Gina Jarrell at J.D. Heiskell and Co., 559-685-6100; Tulare Sales Yard, 559-688-7569; Tulare County Stockyard in Dinuba 559-591-0884; George at World Ag Expo, 559-688-1751 or e-mail george@farmshow.org. Sponsorships are $500, which includes two tables and recognition on the program.
The 2008 World Ag Expo is Feb. 12-14, at the International Agri-Center in Tulare, Calif. This year, the Expo will expand to 2.6 million square feet with the addition of the Dairy Technology Center and outdoor exhibits in the dairy section. The 2008 World Ag Expo is Where the World of Agriculture Means Business. For more information visit www.worldagexpo.com or call 800-999-9186.
