For Josh Webber, Chief Operating Officer of Property and Casualty Operations at Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee, 4-H was a gateway to travel, friendships and a steady professional career.
Early Influences
“I was a nontraditional 4-H candidate,” Webber says.
Growing up in Cookeville, Webber didn’t have an agricultural background. It was through a close friend from a farming family that he started to take an interest in agriculture. Then, in 7th grade, Webber entered an essay contest sponsored by the Tennessee Arabian Horse Association that was open to 4-H’ers. After winning, his prize was a horse of his own, which led Webber to take a more active role in 4-H through animal projects.
“I was about two blocks from the courthouse of Cookeville and yet was very active in 4-H and FFA through a love of agriculture,” Webber says.
See more: Meet Corinne Gould, 4-H Alumni and Friends President
He participated in Honor Club and different camp projects, but it was his eventual role on judging teams that held his interest. His teams won at the state level in livestock, soil and wildlife competitions. His state wins led him to the national wildlife judging competition in North Dakota. Piling into a van with a group of teenagers and driving across the country was an experience he won’t forget.
“It was really my first exposure to travel outside the state of Tennessee,” Webber says. “I got to meet a lot of really great folks that I’m still friends with today, those that I competed with and also those that I competed against. It really shaped a lot of the friendships that I carried into college and even beyond.”
4-H Network
4-H was essential in creating a network of support that Webber leaned on when applying to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). With friends all over the state, Webber felt more confident in taking the plunge, knowing that because of 4-H, he wasn’t on his own.
“I would have probably never considered going to school in Knoxville, being from Cookeville,” Webber says.
See more: Meet Matt Fennel, Tennessee 4-H Foundation President
Webber continued to be involved in 4-H through collegiate chapters, internships and working in the state 4-H office. He earned a degree in Animal Science from UTK, but it was an unexpected 4-H connection that led him to his current career at Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee.
“The introduction that I had to Farm Bureau actually came through the connection that I had outside of the company with 4-H events,” Webber says. “I met several other Farm Bureau Insurance agents who had children involved in the 4-H livestock project.”
Life Lessons
The lessons Webber learned through 4-H are still with him today. The program influenced his life professionally and personally – Webber met his wife through 4-H, in what he calls a “4-H marriage.”
Webber places value on the interaction between people of different age groups, backgrounds and opinions in 4-H, which prepares new professionals for interacting with those outside their demographic in the workplace. He believes that leadership through service is “just a part of what you do in 4-H.”
“4-H is directly influencing the future leaders of Tennessee,” Webber says.
Through his work at Farm Bureau Insurance, Webber has the opportunity to interact with current 4-H’ers who visit the office to exchange ideas and see what prior 4-H’ers are doing in their professional careers. The public speaking, collaboration and networking skills taught in 4-H helped Webber immensely in his own career, and he knows he isn’t the only one.
“There is a good deal of interaction between 4-H and the Farm Bureau that I’m happy to be able to continue,” Webber says. “Almost anybody who has a 4-H background can say that their present world is more influenced than they realize by 4-H.”