Tennessee Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee

Left to right, back row: Brenda Baker, Obion County; Catherine Keck, Claiborne County; Lou Nave, Cannon County. First row: Faye Coble, Lincoln County; Jane May, Dyer County; Debbie Bryan, Coffee County

(Read bios of the Leadership Committee members by clicking on the members' names)

State Chairman - Jane May, Dyer County

Use the following form to list the members of your county Farm Bureau Women's organization.

Member List (pdf)

Women's Leadership Committee Bios

Jane May
State Women’s Chairman for the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation

My husband, William, and I have been married 51 years. We have two sons, Robert and Ronald May and one daughter, Regina Gregson. They have blessed us with six grandchildren, three boys and three girls.  We have a diversified farming operation and since we are semi-retired we lease out our row crop for soybeans. William still enjoys raising hogs, goats and feeder claves.

I was elected to the Dyer County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee in December 1985.  In 1987, I was elected as Vice-Chairman and then elected as Chairman in 1988.  I served as Dyer County Chairman until I became District I Women’s chairman in 1996.  In 2002, I was elected as Vice State Women’s Chairman and elected as State Women’s Chairman in 2006.

I was appointed to serve on the Keep Tennessee Beautiful Advisory Council to represent Tennessee Farm Bureau Women.

I retired in 2006 from Trimble Elementary School, where I worked for 32½ years.  I am an active member of the Trimble First Baptist Church where I serve on several committees, sing in the choir and enjoy teaching a ladies Sunday School class.  I am also a member of the Trimble Lions Club and help work on many community projects.

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Brenda Baker
District 1

My name is Brenda (Tanner) Baker.  My husband, Sam and I will be married 48 years on New Year’s Eve.  We have 4 children and 7 grandchildren. I am one of the lucky women who have never had to work off the farm.  I was a stay-at-home mother and farm wife.  I do all the bookkeeping for the farming operations and have been most involved with the poultry operation.  We have 2000 acres of row crops consisting of corn and soybeans.  We have two breeder hen houses which produces fertile eggs to the Tyson Hatchery in Union City.  (I have helped gather as many as 20,000 eggs a day during peak laying times.)   Sam and his brother, O’Neil Baker, comprise Baker Brothers Farms.  Our son, Robbie, is hoping to farm full time in the future.  

After my family, farm, and church (we attend Troy United Methodist Church in Troy, TN), my loves are the Farm Bureau, the Obion County Public Library, and the Obion County Fair.  I have enjoyed serving as FBW County chairman and now as a state leadership committee member, my horizons have broadened.  Farm Bureau first sparked my interest in public affairs and local politics.  I have learned so much through Farm Bureau that I would not have had the opportunity to learn otherwise.  I have been a member of the Board of Trustees for the Obion County Public Library for over 20 years and now serve as Chair.  One of my proudest accomplishments is helping build the new $6,000,000 building.  My other love is the Obion County Fair.  I have served as Fair president for the past 16 years.  During that time the Fair has grown and won several state awards.  I also serve as the Election Officer during elections for the Obion precinct.

I am a grower representative on the Tennessee Poultry Association board of directors where I serve as the Treasurer.  I also serve on the Poultry Committee for TFBF and was a member of the AFBF Poultry Committee for 4 terms.

The things I do purely for my own enjoyment are read (Sam says I have as many books as the library), knit and crochet, take pictures and scrapbook, and collect the Department 56 North Pole Village.  

I love the farm and am so glad we had the opportunity to raise our family here.  I don’t think there is a better way of life or a better place to live it than in Tennessee.

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Faye Coble
District II

My husband, Phillip and I live in the rural Yukon Community in Lincoln County.  Our phone is Blanche, our address is Taft and we live closer to Fayetteville.

We own 185 acres of his family farm where we have hay and raise beef cattle. He is a logger and I work full time at Davie Ashley Sawmill as an office assistant. We attend church a Coldwater United Methodist Church.
 
I have enjoyed being a Farm Bureau volunteer leader for over 25 years as well as FCE and other community events. Cooking, yard and garden work keeps me busy and are some of my favorite things to do.  Crocheting and reading are my relaxation.
 
We raised three sons on the farm. The late Chris Coble, Jeff Coble and Justin Coble. They and their lovely wives have given us 8 grandchildren, seven boys and 1 girl, six of those under 6 years of age.  Life is lively at my house.

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Debbie Bryan
District III

Debbie was born October 13, 1955 in Muncie Indiana. She married Dwight Bryan on July 26, 1975 and has two children, Amber and Derrick and two grandchildren, Parker and Olivia.

Debbie has been a member of Farm Bureau since the day she married Dwight and a member of the Farm Bureau Women’s Committee for nearly that long.  She works for the Coffee County Board of Education with Central High School.

Dwight is now a retired farmer of row crops, hay, custom combining and registered Polled Herefords with some commercial cattle.  

The Bryan’s still plan to run the cattle on their own land while giving up all the rented land.

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Lou Nave
District IV

I am a fifth generation farmer from Cannon County. My family owns and operates a 320 acre rolling hill farm that has been in my family over 150 years. We raise Tennessee Walking Horses, commercial beef cattle and market lambs.

My husband Glenn and I have three daughters, Andrea, Hannah and Emily. All the girls are or have been involved in 4-H and showing lambs and horses.
 
I am a Pre-K teacher at Woodbury Grammar School. I have been an Agriculture in the Classroom presenter for more than ten years.

I serve on the Cannon County Farm Bureau Board of Directors, Chairman of the Cannon County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee, Secretary of the Mid State Producers Association, and am a 4-H volunteer.

I have a BS degree in Animal Science from Middle Tennessee State University.

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Catherine Keck
District V

Catherine Keck is a member of Head of Barren Missionary Baptist Church and serves as the Treasurer; a University of Tennessee, Accounting Graduate in 1992 and employed by Mercy Health Partners in Knoxville, which is the Southern Division of the Catholic Healthcare System with their corporate office in Cincinnati, OH.   

Currently, Catherine is assigned as the Site Director of Finance at Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Jefferson, TN.  Her husband of 14 years, Larry Keck, is a farmer and owner of Keck Builders, a general construction company.  She is a very proud mother of two wonderful sons: Steven Eller (25) and Chris Eller (21).  Sadly, no daughter-in-laws and no grandchildren to report at this time, but she has high hopes for the future.  

The Keck’s live on a beautiful 100 acre farm in New Tazewell, TN with mainly hay crop and beef cattle.  Catherine also serves as United Way Leader and Jefferson Memorial Hospital Campaign Chair; a local Farm Bureau County Volunteer and Co-Chair for Claiborne County Farm/City Day; a family annual vacation travel coordinator; and the 2010 Thanksgiving host for approximately 30 extended family and friends.  She often strives to win most favored Aunt status among her 13 nieces and nephews – this usually involves bribery of some form.  Lastly, Catherine loves to bargain shop and Black Friday is the best day of the whole year.

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