Cooperative Living March/April 2019 - 16

CoverStory | by Laura Emery, Field Editor
Bettina Ring, Virginia's Secretary
of Agriculture & Forestry:
At Home in Craig County
She's a trailblazer, leader in agriculture
and forestry, and a friend of
Virginia's electric cooperatives.
B
ettina Ring loves her job.
When she talks about her work,
her face lights up.
Ring is Virginia's Secretary of Agriculture
and Forestry, the first woman to hold the
title. She brings to this lofty position a
genuine, deeply felt passion for the
welfare of rural Virginia, its people, its
work, its communities. She is, after all,
a product of rural Virginia.
" I'm Bettina Ring from Craig County, "
she introduces herself, with a warm
smile. It's clear that Ring, comfortable in
duck boots and jeans on this wet, foggy
January morning in Craig County, is
something more than a high-level
government worker. " I do recognize that
once you're appointed to a Cabinet
position, you are then considered more
of a 'politician'; but I try not to operate
like one. I'm just an individual who has
spent a lot of time in public service and
loves it. I care deeply about the people
and the communities we serve
throughout the commonwealth, "
the 55-year-old says.
Ring has traveled from Richmond to
Joe's Trees in Newport to be photographed
for the cover of Cooperative Living magazine
in honor of National Agriculture Week
(March 10-16) and Virginia Agriculture
Week (March 17-23). She's a trailblazer,
a leader in agriculture and forestry, and a
friend of Virginia's electric cooperatives.
For Ring, rain or shine, it feels good to
be home. " I'd rather be taking photos in the
rain than sitting in my office in Richmond, "
she jokes, noting that General Session is
right around the corner. When that time
comes, Ring will be busy championing her
current initiatives, which include conserving
working farms and forestland, helping rural
families acquire and use tools for estate
planning, helping producers become
sustainable in their farm and forest
practices, and integrating farmland and
forestland into urban and suburban areas.
Farmland and forestland have always
meant something to the poised, personable
woman standing beneath an umbrella.
After all, the singing creeks and
whispering woods of Craig County are
the sounds of home for Ring, as she
spent her childhood years enjoying and
exploring them.
The daughter of Keith and Betty Ring
of Craig County, Ring smiles as she
recalls her childhood. Her father was an
electrician and eventually started his
own business, Ring Electric. He also
opened a couple of restaurants in New
Castle later in his life. " I worked at one
of the restaurants when I was in high
school, " Ring says. Her mother had a
career in education and worked as a
teacher's assistant at McCleary
Elementary for 43 years.
Ring was also close to her grandparents,
whose property was just next door to
her childhood home, and has many fond
memories of shelling peas and snapping
green beans with her grandmother,
Willie Huffman. " I was very close to my
grandmother. I remember that she would
always have ice box cookies in her cookie
jar. [For Bettina Ring's grandmother's
recipe, see the Commonwealth Kitchen
column on page 33]. Everyone called
her 'Granny Bill' and she was such a
wonderful woman. I learned so much
from her. She, along with my aunt,
taught me how to fish on Barbours
Creek in Craig County. "
Craig County was a special place to
spend her childhood, says Ring.
" Growing up in a small community, you
feel very integrated in the community
and you know and care about one
another, " she explains.
But Craig County spoke to more than
just her desire to feel part of a close-knit
community of people; it also spoke to
her love of the outdoors. " Just driving
up Sinking Creek Valley and seeing the
beautiful farmland and rolling hills, the
barns and mountain scenery, it's what
14 | Cooperative Living | March-April 2019
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LAURA EMERY PHOTO
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living March/April 2019

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