Home Background Testimonials Student Programs Adult Programs Video Clips Recent Clients In The News On The Farm Contact Information	Lohr Appointed by Governor Warner to Virginia State Board of Agriculture Andrea Lohr is among the busiest stay-at-home mothers in the Shenandoah Valley. In addition to raising her two–year-old daughter Caroline, Lohr attends graduate school at James Madison University, travels as a motivational speaker, and works with the national FFA organization to train officers and develop leadership curriculum. She is so up on her game that even Governor Mark Warner has taken notice of her talents. Warner announced last week that he selected Lohr for the state’s 11-member Agriculture and Consumer Services Board. Lohr, 28, is one of only seven board members who work in the agricultural industry. The other four positions are unaffiliated residents who represent the state’s consumers. “I’m really excited about the opportunity to serve on this prestigious board,” Lohr said Tuesday on her way to class. “I am just honored that I was selected.” Andrea Lohr grew up on a tobacco farm in Fulton, Kentucky. She and her brother and sisters raised cattle as children and participated in the local 4-H program. Lohr later joined the FFA and went on to serve as the Kentucky state FFA president. She went on to the University of Kentucky and graduated cum laude with a degree in agricultural education. After graduation, Lohr moved to Virginia with her husband, Matt. Teaching openings were scarce, so she worked for a year as a customer service representative for Wampler Foods. But soon enough, she landed a job teaching agriculture at J. Frank Hillyard Middle School in Broadway. She spent four years there and was selected as the teacher of the year in 2000. In 2001, she chose to become a full time mom and part time motivational speaker. Now Lohr also spends time with her husband on the family’s farming operation, Valley Pike Farm, Inc. The experience that she and her husband get with their own motivational speaking company, New Directions Communications, paid off earlier this year when they won a new 2003 Dodge Ram Pickup truck. During the national convention in January, the American Farm Bureau Federation honored the Lohrs as its first ever Young Farmer and Rancher Excellence in Agriculture Award winners. Part of the competition required a 20-minute oral presentation. Now Andrea Lohr will represent the Central Shenandoah Valley on the state board at least four times each year, when the board meets in Richmond. In addition to ruling on agricultural policy and regulations, she will also have the ear of the governor on pressing agricultural issues and concerns. “From what I hear, I have some pretty big shoes to fill.” She said. She replaces Joe Wampler on the board, who served this past year as chairman.