CAMP HILL, Pa. — Longtime Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Administrative Secretary Louis “Lou” Sallie has announced his retirement after 25 years in the top post. Sam Kieffer, current manager of PFB’s Government Affairs and Communication division, will be his successor.
When you take into account his employment as an area director for the Northeast with the American Farm Bureau Federation and his job as director of member relations for the New York Farm Bureau, Sallie has spent more than 42 years working for Farm Bureau.
“My whole time with Farm Bureau has been on the organization side, working with volunteers,” said Sallie. “Our grassroots members are so vital to this organization. It has been a privilege to work for them, because they are the strength of farm bureau.”
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Rick Ebert said Sallie has helped him grown professionally.
“He was a true mentor throughout my career going back to when I was starting out as a young farmer, working my way through the Young Farmer and Rancher committee, as a member of the state board of directors, as PFB vice president and now as president.”
Sallie also worked as administrator of PFB’s charitable organization, the Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation. During his tenure, the foundation created and expanded the Mobile Agriculture Education Science Lab program, which reached a major milestone in 2016, when it welcomed its 1,000,000th student inside a lab for a lesson.
Kieffer has held two positions with Pennsylvania Farm Bureau since joining the organization in 2005, working as federal government affairs director and as a regional organization director.
“Having grown up in a Farm Bureau family, I am humbled to take on this new role,” said Kieffer.
Kieffer, who was a former logistics officer in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and serves on the Pennsylvania FFA Foundation board of trustees, says dedicated farmer volunteers and a talented professional staff are the key to future success.
“We have many opportunities in the coming years to grow our membership, enhance our programs and add to our services. I’m excited about Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s future and am committed to serving Pennsylvania’s farm and rural families,” Kieffer said.
