Five individuals were honored with the Missouri Farm Bureau (MOFB) Outstanding Service to Agriculture Award December 3. The presentations were made by MOFB President Blake Hurst during the annual meeting’s opening session at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Each year the award is given to select individuals who have demonstrated their desire to work closely with Farm Bureau and have supported agriculture throughout their careers. This year, five join the list of honorees. They are Representative Bill Reiboldt, Senator Brian Munzlinger, Doris Moore, retired executive assistant to the MOFB chief administrative officer, Steve Roberts, retired MOFB regional coordinator for northeast Missouri, and Chris Chinn, director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

Representative Bill Reiboldt was first elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2010 and served eight years. He is the House representative to the Missouri Ag Foundation Board and serves as the chairman of the Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight. While a member of the House, Reiboldt chaired Ag Policy, a Select Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Transportation. He also was a member of four interim committees dealing with education, agriculture, and transportation. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army and National Guard. Reiboldt resides on the family farm just outside of Neosho with his wife, Kathleen. They have three children (Bryan, Beth and Jennifer) and eight grandchildren.

Senator Brian Munzlinger is a life-long farmer who was first elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2002 and served four terms. He was elected to the Senate for the first time in 2010 and served two terms. There he chaired the Senate Agriculture Committee. He is a 1978 graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor’s Degree in general agriculture and a teaching certificate in agriculture. While in college, Munzlinger rodeoed and continued in the sport for many years. He was also a 4-H shooting instructor, taking teams to national competitions. Munzlinger and his wife, Michele, have two children and one grandchild.

Doris Moore holds the distinction of being Missouri Farm Bureau’s longest-tenured employee, retiring in June after completing 49 years of service. A Chamois High School graduate, Doris attended the University of Central Missouri to earn a two-year secretarial degree. It was college where she was interviewed by the MOFB director of personnel. Shortly thereafter, in June 1969, Moore began her employment in the MOFB insurance companies’ sales department. Fifteen years later, she was promoted to executive assistant for the chief administrative officer and retired from that position. Moore and her late husband, Danny, have one daughter, Lishia. She currently lives on the farm she and Danny established in Henley.

Steve Roberts retired this year after 21 years as MOFB’s northeast Missouri regional coordinator. Roberts worked 22 years in the livestock feed industry, starting with Ralston Purina Company as a district sales manager. He also taught basic everyday selling techniques and dimensional sales management before joining Farm Bureau. Roberts is a graduate of Centralia High School and the University of Missouri. He served as the FFA Chapter vice president and earned the state farmer degree in 1970. A farmer himself, Roberts previously owned and operated a 1,800 head farrow-to-finish family hog farm and today manages a cow-calf operation. He and his wife of 45 years, Lisa, have two children, Nick Roberts, also a MOFB regional coordinator, and Dr. Elizabeth Roberts. The Roberts also have two grandchildren.

Chris Chinn is a fifth-generation farmer from Clarence who was appointed director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture in January 2017. She has held leadership positions in agriculture on the local, state and national level for more than 12 years. As a trailblazer in ag advocacy, Chinn has established her brand through social media and public speaking. Her blog and twitter audiences have attracted more than 10,000 faithful followers who have tuned in to hear her farm story. Prior to being agriculture director, Chinn was a member of MOFB’s board of directors from 2010 to 2017. She chaired the American Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee and was a national spokesperson for the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance, an honor that identifies farmers and ranchers who are eager to share their farm story. Chinn and her husband, Kevin, along with their two children, Rachelle and Conner, reside on their family farm in Shelby County where she helps manage their 1,600 sow farrow-to-finish hog operation and feed mill. They also have a small cow-calf herd and raise corn, soybeans and alfalfa.

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