SHERIDAN—Sharleen Castle, of Albany County, was awarded the 2014 Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation (WyFB) Leadership Award at the 95th annual meeting of the organization.  Presented Nov. 14, the award is given to those who have gone above and beyond in their agricultural leadership service in the organization.

“Promoting agriculture is a priority to Sharleen,” said WyFB President Perry Livingston.  “She is passionate about her work for agriculture and has a great vision for the future of agriculture.”

“Selfless promotion of others is one of her strongest leadership qualities,” Livingston said.  “Great leaders lead by example and that is true for Sharleen.”

Helping others grow in their leadership abilities through her mentorship is admired by many.   She is an advocate for agriculture and its people wherever she goes and believes it is important to give back through volunteering.

“It is such a pleasure to watch a college friend grow and prosper in many avenues,” Livingston continued.   “Sharleen and I met in 1970 and she continues to provide inspiration to all that come in contact with her.”  

            Sharleen has been a member of the Albany County Farm Bureau Board of Directors since 1998.  In the 1990s, Ialene Engen encouraged her to get involved with Farm Bureau.  She has given tirelessly to the Albany County Farm Bureau ever since.  In addition to Engen’s mentorship, Sharleen was able to realize the value of Farm Bureau even more through scholarships received by her daughters and later the work of Farm Bureau to keep the Department of Transportation from unnecessarily re-routing Hwy 34 through their ranch. 

 Sharleen has served as president, secretary and treasurer of the Albany County Farm Bureau and has held various committee chair positions.  She has served as a voting delegate at district and state annual meetings since becoming involved in 1998. 

She is an advocate for leadership development opportunities and has helped to plan and implement county board trainings and leadership sessions for members of the Albany County Farm Bureau.  Always learning and growing in her leadership capabilities, Sharleen has participated in state and American Farm Bureau Federation leadership conferences.

“Farm Bureau has afforded me great leadership training opportunities which have made a difference for me in all areas of my life,” Sharleen stated.

One product of Sharleen’s vision has been a “Reverse Agriculture Dinner.”  Called “Today’s Agriculture,” Albany County ranchers invite non-agriculture people to be their guests for dinner and an educational presentation on agriculture issues.  Sharleen’s leadership pulls many different people and organizations together to accomplish the goal of sharing agriculture’s story with hundreds of people.

Sharleen has a gift of encouraging people and getting them involved where they can be successful.  This is true not only in Farm Bureau, but also in the corrals at the ranch.  Leading by example, her grandkids learn from watching her quiet, graceful way of working with cattle.

Sharleen and her husband Bill ranch north of Laramie where they raise cattle and native hay.  The ranch has been in the family since 1887.  They have two daughters and four grandchildren.

“I am humbled to receive an honor this great from an organization of this stature,” Castle said.  “It has been my greatest privilege to work with fellow agriculture advocates through Farm Bureau.”

 “Ialene and Gil Engen created a legacy of service for us to learn from and continue,” She said.  “We have benefitted from the leadership within the WyFB and owe a debt of gratitude to each staff member and the officers of the state organization.”

“The best reward for volunteerism is to see those with whom you work embrace the leadership and commitment to agriculture and move forward to spread our message in an ever-growing circle,” Sharleen concluded.  “I love it when we take a good idea and by working together turn it into a great idea with great results.”

“The Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation is proud to honor Sharleen Castle with the 2014 Leadership Award,” Livingston concluded.  “We thank Sharleen for her dedicated leadership on behalf of the Albany County Farm Bureau, the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation and the state’s agriculture industry.”

            The Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general agriculture organization.  Members work together from the grassroots to develop agricultural policy, programs and services to enhance the rural lifestyle of Wyoming.  On the web, www.wyfb.org.