Soledad, CA – Mikel Ann Miller was recognized as the 2014 Agricultural Woman of the Year for Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties at an annual event hosted by Ag Against Hunger on June 6 at Paraiso Vineyards in Soledad.
This annual luncheon recognizes a woman who has contributed significantly to the success of the tri-county agricultural industry. The Ag Woman of the Year award is a surprise to all guests, including the recipient. Almost 300 people were in attendance to recognize Mikel Ann Miller.
The Agricultural Woman of the Year award seeks to honor unique leadership qualities held by women working within the local agricultural industry. These qualities include creating systematic change for agriculture through production, public policy, consumer awareness and volunteerism, someone who is a spokesperson for agriculture and demonstrates community support.
This year, the committee made up of previous honorees and the Ag Against Hunger Board of Directors chose a woman who has worked to the great benefit of the local agricultural community, Mikel Ann Miller.
The 2014 honoree has volunteered countless hours with many organizations, and was even honored as the “Volunteer of the Year” for her 30 years of volunteerism at the California International Airshow. Mikel Ann is true leader in our community thanks to her endless volunteerism throughout Monterey County. She has been involved with Salinas Valley Fair since she was nine years old, and has continued that passion by being a charter member and treasurer of the Salinas Valley Fair Heritage Foundation. She was the board treasurer for the Monterey County Fair and the Gonzales Young Farmers. Mikel Ann is a past President and longtime member of the King City Rotary Club. This year, she will be named Rotary Assistant District Governor. In 2011, the King City Chamber of Commerce named her “Citizen of the Year”. She has also served on the Monterey County Agriculture Education Committee where she was given “The Spirit of Agriculture Award” for all of her hard work. Her passion for agriculture comes through in her work where she oversaw a 4-H/FFA loan program geared towards students participating in the Monterey County Fair’s livestock auction.
Mikel Ann was born and raised in Salinas. She graduated from North Salinas High School and attended Hartnell College. In 1975, she married Lynn Miller, and they have two successful children, Chris and Curtis. Mikel Ann began her professional life in the banking industry in 1978. For the past 8 years, she has been with 1st Capital Bank in King City where she is 1st Vice President and Regional Relationship Manager.
This year’s Agricultural Woman of the Year is well known and loved by the Central Coast Agricultural Community. She has devoted her time and passion to numerous organizations that benefit agriculture and our local community at large. Women like Mikel Ann Miller are what make the Salinas Valley a successful and thriving community.
Previous Ag Women of the Year include: Sharan Lanini (1994); Claudia Smith (1995); Karen Miller (1996); Susan Gill (1997); Betty Ichikawa (1998); Mary Hansen (1999); Elia Vasquez (2000); Connie Quinlan (2001); Kay Filice (2002); Dorothy Errea (2003); Nita Gizdich (2004); Mary Orradre (2005); Lorri Koster (2006), Margaret D’Arrigo-Martin (2007), Celeste Settrini (2008), Darlene Din (2009), Karen Antle (2010), Abby-Taylor Silva (2011), Mari Rossi (2012) and Georgeann Cowles Eiskamp (2013).
The keynote speaker for this event was Steffanie Smith, CEO of Colorful Harvest. Steffanie is a third-generation grower, with a background in agricultural advocacy and growing operations. She shared her perspective on the ag industry and her success story as a leader in agriculture. The Emcee for the event was news anchor Erin Clark from KSBW.
All proceeds from this event went toward Ag Against Hunger’s efforts to alleviate hunger. On the Central Coast of California, more fruits and vegetables are grown, packed and shipped than in any other region in the world. Yet, in the midst of this abundance there are many who are hungry. Ag Against Hunger was founded to provide people in need with nutritious, fresh, surplus produce from local fields by creating a connection between the agricultural community and food assistance programs. Since 1990, the generous donations of surplus produce from local growers and shippers have helped Ag Against Hunger bring 218 million pounds of produce to millions of hungry children, adults and seniors. In 2013, almost 13 million pounds of fresh produce was donated to food banks in the tri-county area and across California.
Source: Ag Against Hunger