Columbia, Mo.,—The Missouri Pork Association has awarded the third annual Missy North Memorial Scholarship to Baleigh Raef, a freshman at the College of the Ozarks from Lebanon. Her selection was announced at the 2018 Missouri Pork Expo on February 6 in Columbia, Missouri.

 

The scholarship, awarded to a student planning to pursue a career in the pork industry, was made possible by Bob North and his family in honor of his late wife, Missy. She had a passion for raising pigs and was very active in the industry.

 

Baleigh is the daughter of Glenn and Jennifer Raef of Lebanon, Missouri. She has shown both market and breeding hogs at local fairs for the past 17 years. In high school, she began raising and selling hogs to local 4-H and FFA members as part of her FFA Supervised Agriculture Experience Project. She was the Missouri FFA Area 10 winner of the Swine Production Entrepreneurship Proficiency Award in 2016.

 

While in high school, Baleigh was actively involved in her FFA and 4-H chapter. She was historian (2014-2015), treasurer (2015-2016) and president (2016-2017) of the Lebanon FFA and a member of the Laclede Co. Aggies 4-H Club from 2006 to 2017—she was president for the last 8 years. Baleigh participated in the Missouri Agribusiness Academy in 2015. She is currently a member of the College of the Ozarks Aggie Club. She works as a farm hand for Raef Farms, and for the Laclede County Fair. She also keeps the books for the Joel E. Barber C-5 School Athletics.

 

Baleigh is planning to graduate from the College of the Ozarks in 2021, majoring in animal science with an emphasis in swine. She hopes to pursue a career in swine production management.

 

To be eligible, students must be an undergraduate in a two-year swine program or a four-year college of agriculture majoring in animal sciences or a related field and planning to pursue a career in swine production management or related field. Applicants were to complete an online application and provide two letters of recommendation and academic transcripts.

 

The Missouri Pork Association represents the state’s pork producers in the areas of promotion, research, education and legislation. For more information about this or any other programs of the Missouri Pork Association, go to www.mopork.com, or call the Missouri Pork Association office at (573) 445-8375.

 

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