Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation’s Women’s Leadership Committee traveled to Jackson to educate and serve during Women’s Day at the Capitol.

The committee spent their morning hosting a reception in the Capitol Rotunda for the legislature and their staff. The opportunity allowed MFBF’s women to answer questions and share information on the impact women have on the Mississippi farming community.

To conclude their activities at the Capitol building, the group of women heard from Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Billy Hudson, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bill Pigott, Senate Agriculture Committee Vice Chairman Russell Jolly, House Agriculture Committee Vice Chairman Vince Mangold, and Rep. Price Wallace.

Although the Women’s Leadership Committee uses the day as an opportunity to educate, it’s the service opportunity some twenty years in the making that means the most.

Each year, following their activities at the Capitol building, MFBF’s women visit the Ronald McDonald House. They collect food items and cleaning supplies to deliver on this day, as well as a homemade lunch.

“Our relationship with Ronald McDonald House has just blossomed,” Women’s Leadership Committee member Peggy McKey says. “They have been so welcoming every year and I love meeting the families. I’ve only met one today, but I love hearing the stories and praying for the children.”

“What’s really nice about the women’s committee is that they represent the entire state, and that’s where our families come from,” Mississippi Ronald McDonald House Executive Director Ruth Ann Allen says. “They are not just from the metro area. They truly are from the entire state of Mississippi.”

The Ronald McDonald House in Jackson serves as a “home away from home” for families of seriously ill children who travel to Jackson for specialized medical care.

“We want their focus to be simply on helping their child get out of the hospital,” Allen says. “These children are in intensive care and the families are under a lot of stress. Groups that support us – they really take care of these families’ every day needs.”

MFBF President Mike McCormick said he proudly supports the work the Women’s Leadership Committee does each year.

“Our people give back to a lot of different causes, but this certainly is one that people in need around the state of Mississippi can use,” McCormick says. “I commend our women for being a part of it.”