I’m Wayne Grannis, District 9 KFBIAA President. I was born and raised on the family farm in northern Fleming Co., where I still live. My father and I have a 340 acre beef cattle operation. In my youth, it was primarily burley tobacco, and I despised virtually every second I ever spent in the tobacco patch or stripping room. The day my dad retired from raising tobacco was one of the greatest days of my life!
I graduated from Fleming County High School in the spring of 1978, and enrolled the next fall at Morehead State University, where I pledged and joined Sigma Pi Fraternity in the spring of ’79. I somehow mustered the academic prowess to graduate, but not before entering the wacky world of Farm Bureau, where I have been an Agent for the past 31 years.
I like to joke and tell everyone that I started when I was 12, but in reality, I actually started before I was legally eligible. I was home from college in the summer of ’81, at a time KFB had just begun to make a big push toward hiring agents. I stumbled in to the local office to pay my premium, and as most of you know, I’m not the most bashful guy in the world. As I stood and talked to Ralph Owens, Agency Manager at the time, he must have heard something that made him think I might make a good agent. Anyway, the idea was mentioned of beginning a career with KFB. After discussing this with my parents, who were well aware of my distain for the tobacco industry, it was decided this was a career path that I should follow. So, I quit school at 20, and signed on with the Bureau — Even though you were supposed to be 21 to enter into a contract. A few days after my 21st birthday, I officially signed my contracts! In order to get a jump start on my career I took night classes to finish up my degree while I worked, serving as an agent for 17 years. When Ralph retired at the end of 1998, I was fortunate enough to be named Agency Manager. And the rest, as they say, is history!
In April 1984, after completing what I thought at the time was a rigorous validation program, I married my beautiful, talented, and obviously mentally challenged, high school sweetheart, Kim McElfresh. Unable to conceive children of our own, we adopted our two sons, Josh, now 17, and Jordan now 11. I enjoy golf, skiing, boating, traveling, horseback riding, and helping the boys with their livestock projects.
I love and enjoy the farm, as long as there is a tractor involved, or livestock to tend to. But breaking a sweat or messing up my hair is not an option!!
I have been a member of the KFBIAA pretty much since the beginning of my career, and have served as District President for a minimum of 15 years, but probably more like 20. The counties in my district include Bracken, Bourbon, Clark, Harrison, Lewis, Mason, Nicholas, Pendleton, Robertson, and of course, Fleming. For the past 7 years I have served as the golf outing coordinator at our convention. I really enjoy socializing with all of you in that capacity.
In closing, my job at KFBMIC is the perfect job for me, and I believe my time as a member of the KFBIAA has only enhanced my job performance, and has enabled me to form lifelong friendships with most of you. May God keep you, our company, and our organization safe and strong for years to come.
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