At the end of December, the Cowboy Museum said goodbye to three directors who completed their board term; Liza Gilbert-Cotton, Ron Grohl, & David Zwald. We welcome new board members Dave Brown, Doug Murdock and Tom Orvis who began their terms on January 1.We will introduce you to these gentlemen in the next few issues.
New Director Tom Orvis, is the Governmental Affairs Director for the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau in Modesto, CA. He has been involved in Farm Bureau for over 12 years as an officer, director and now a staff member. Tom covers all areas of governmental relations from the local level to the national level and has been involved in many natural resource issues covering air, water, land and endangered species. He also is very involved in Farm Bureau rural crime and political action activities and is frequently contacted regarding Agricultural Mitigation issues.
Tom was raised on a family cattle ranching operation located in northeastern Stanislaus and western Calaveras counties. His family has been on their ranch for over 137 years and Tom is part of the 5th generation to operate the Snow Ranch, established by his Great-Great-Grandfather William Snow in 1873. Tom is a graduate of Oakdale High School and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. While at Cal Poly, he majored in Agribusiness with degree concentrations in Sales & Marketing and Agricultural Policy.
Following Tom’s graduation from Cal Poly in 1990, Tom started his career in agriculture with ConAgra/Butterball Turkey Company in Turlock, CA. Tom has experience in production agriculture management in poultry and beef. He also has extensive experience in sales and marketing of nutrition and animal genetics in the dairy industry. Tom joined SCFB in 2008 following three years at the San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation as Program Director.
“I’m excited to serve on the Cowboy Museum board and look forward to educating not only the public, but he children about the ranching traditions of our area and how this all ties into their food supply. Food doesn’t come from the supermarket it starts on a farm or ranch.”
