Valerie Mertz, of Chesterfield, has been appointed to Missouri Farm Bureau’s Promotion and Education (P&E) Committee.
Mertz is farm manager at the Fulton School of St. Alban’s and teaches agricultural lessons for 1st through 3rd grades. She also teaches biology and environmental sciences, and is the beekeeper for the school’s bee hive program. Her husband, Denny, owns and manages 450 acres of row crops near Elsberry.
Mertz has a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a Master of Educational Processes. Both her and her husband, a past state board member, have been involved in Farm Bureau since they joined in 1994. She is currently secretary and P&E chair of the St. Louis County Farm Bureau.
Her years of teaching have earned Mertz High School Teacher of the Year, the Emerson Award for Excellence in Education, A LOT Workhorse Award, and a Biotech Teacher Fellowship at Monsanto. She is involved in St. Charles County Master Gardeners, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church and volunteers as a photographer for Camp Rainbow, which helps children with cancer and blood diseases.
Mertz’s appointment to the P&E committee was made at Missouri Farm Bureau’s annual meeting December 9 at the Lake of the Ozarks. She represents District 5 in the east-central area of the state. As a member of the 10-person committee, she will help develop, implement and evaluate projects and programs that promote agriculture.
