Lee and Orahood named organization directors for Ohio Farm Bureau

Amanda Orahood of Canfield has been named Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) organization director for Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

As organization director, Orahood will act as liaison between the county Farm Bureaus and OFBF. She will assist the county groups as they develop and implement programs to strengthen their organizations and enhance their ability to serve members and affect positive change in their communities.

Before accepting the position with OFBF, Orahood spent more than three years as a meat inspector for the Ohio Department of Agriculture. She grew up on a small farm in Caldwell and is a member of the Columbiana-Mahoning-Trumbull Cattlemen’s Association. Orahood is an advisory member for the association’s beef ambassador program. She is a graduate of both the OSU Agricultural Technical Institute, with a associate’s degree in livestock science and Ohio State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in animal sciences. She and her husband, Lee, live in Canfield with their son, Colter.

Melinda Lee of Cardington has been named Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) organization director for Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene and Miami counties.

Lee was hired as an organization director-in-training in September 2015 and has spent the last several months learning the job under the supervision of Steve Berk, organization director for multiple central Ohio counties.

In her new role, Lee will act as liaison between the county Farm Bureaus and OFBF. She will assist the county groups as they develop and implement programs to strengthen their organizations and enhance their ability to serve members and affect positive change in their communities.

Lee is a 2013 graduate of Ohio State University where she majored in animal sciences and agribusiness. She received her American FFA degree in 2010. Previously she worked at Aldermere Farm in Maine helping plan and facilitate agricultural education programs and at the Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center. She also was an agricultural ambassador for Ohio Farm Bureau during the 2012 Ohio State Fair. Lee continues to help out on the family’s beef, sheep and grain farm in Cardington.