Friday Introduction: Parker Welch from Maryland Farm Bureau

**Disclaimer: These features are not in a specific order of preference** However, I will note that Parker was on the top of my list and he is officially part of the top 10 ;).

This week, I'm introducing you to one of my most favorite people, Parker Welch from Maryland Farm Bureau. We quickly became friend while I was serving as Chair of the Maryland Farm Bureau Young Farmers Committee and he was working on staff as Maryland Farm Bureau's Young Famer's Coordinator. He's a wonderful person to know, great friend to have, and incredible asset to the Maryland Farm Bureau organization. He's also pretty funny.

The interview this week is particularly meaningful, though, because Parker is currently campaigning as Man of the Year for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Maryland Eastern Shore Chapter with Team It's A Cure Thing.

Did you know that every 9 minutes, someone in the United States dies from a blood cancer?

Eleven years ago, a friend of mine from high school, Trevan Booth, died from leukemia. He was one of the kindest people I've ever met and I'll never forget his smile. So this cause strikes a very personal chord for me. 

And while it's unfortunate, who among us hasn't been affected by cancer? But more importantly, who doesn't want to be part of the movement to find its cure?

So why did it take so long to feature Parker in the series?

Well, timing is everything. Of course I planned to feature Parker, because he's an important part of my life, but now is the best time because he's working towards an important goal. And that's to raise $100,000 for blood cancer research. I'm asking you to help him! Visit https://pages.mwoy.org/md/mdes18/pwelch to make a donation. And be sure to follow Team It's A Cure Thing on Facebook!

And now, for the fun part. The interview...

If you could have any super power, what would it be?

If I could choose any super power, I would be able to control time. Not necessarily time travel, but if you're having a good day, you could make that last longer and if you're having a bad day, you could make that go quicker. 

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

This was a tough one for me, I tried to do a lot of research to find something...but I'm going with Truett Cathy, inventor of the fast food chain, Chik-fil-A.

What would you most like to splurge on?

I grew up showing cows, so if I had to splurge, I would buy a cow and hopefully said cow would win the World Dairy Expo or something. So if I had to spend a lot of money, it would be at a cow sale.

What's your best piece of marketing advice?

My best piece of marketing advice would be to put yourself in the consumer or end user's shoes because I think a lot of times you're in the trenches or you're heavily involved in aspects of the product and it's hard to remove yourself sometimes and think about what someone would like to see or what kind of information to share. So, being aware and taking that bird's eye view would be my advice. 

Tell us something we don't know?

I don't know if this is something people don't know because I've been clogging news feeds and sending emails and talking about it for the past year. But, I'm currently running for Man of the Year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on Maryland's Eastern Shore. So, for the next ten weeks, I'm trying to raise $100,000 for blood cancer research and awareness along with my team, Team It's a Cure Thing. So, one thing you probably already know...

Bonus Question: If people want to get involved and support your campaign, how would they do that?

That's a great question. The best thing would be to follow our Facebook page, Team It's A Cure Thing and a lot of the links to donate are posted on that page.