Joe Glassmeyer elected Secretary/Treasurer of OFSWCD

The OFSWCD held its 66th Annual Meeting January 19-22, 2009. During the Delegate and Resolution Session, Joe Glassmeyer, Clermont SWCD Supervisor and Area Chairman, was elected as the new Secretary/Treasurer.

Joe Glassmeyer with a BS in Biology from Xavier University is the owner-operator of the Glassmeyer Family Farms. The original family dairy operation began in 1954 and Joe took over operation of the farm in 1974. The farm is a true family operation. Joe and his wife Rosalie (Peachie) have three adult children. Joe III is a financial investment advisor, Susan is a PhD in environmental chemistry and Sarah is a law librarian. They all contribute their expertise and offer advice.

The farm encompasses over 500 acres of corn, soybeans, hay and pastures for Polled Hereford cattle and Shetland ponies. Joe uses reduced and minimum tillage, responsible use of herbicides and pesticides and crop rotation on his farm. In addition to his responsibilities on the farm, Joe is in his 25th year as a school bus driver for Felicity Franklin School District and Grant Career Center.

Joe became a board member with the Clermont SWCD in 1986 and had held all positions on the district board. Clermont County, in Southwest Ohio, is nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and bordered by Cincinnati on the west, rural Brown County on the east, rapidly growing Warren County to the north and grounded by the Ohio River. The county’s diverse city/country communities present a challenge to the district. At the 2006 Annual Meeting, Joe was named recipient of the 2005 Conservation District Board Member of the year for the State Of Ohio and presented with an award for 20 years of dedicated service in the conservation field.
Joe was elected as a Director in 1999 and joined the Executive Board in 2003 as Area IV Chair. In his 22 years of experience with the OFSWCD, he has been a supervisor, an Area IV Director and is currently Area Chairman and Executive board member of the Ohio Federation of Conservation Districts and Chairman of the Federation’s Urban Committee. He has been with the current officer team at various meetings and understands the challenges facing the Federation. On eight separate occasions, he has served as an Ohio Federation delegate to Washington DC Legislative Conferences and worked with Congress for improved conservation programs and funding in both Ohio and across the US. Joe has attended 10 NACD North Central regional conferences over the years and last year’s NACD legislative conference. This year Joe traveled to 18 annual meetings and four Area meetings in Ohio to learn about the districts concerns and to celebrate their accomplishments. Locally Joe has served as Clermont’s representative to the Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana Regional Council of Governments-Regional Conservation Council (OKI-RCC) for many years, serving as Chair and Treasurer of the organization.