Back in the fall of 2012 I was contacted by an individual named Loren Cardeli. He has a neat organization he created called “A Growing Culture” of which he is the Executive Director.

http://www.agrowingculture.org/staff-2/

Well, after a series of conversations he asked if I could host and help him set up an agricultural tour for a group of students in a journalism class at Princeton. I’ve done that many times before and told him it sounded like fun and would be happy to help. I eventually set him up with our local Agricultural specialist at Cornell Cooperative Extension Maire Ullrich and she helped arrange other stops on their tour.

So on November 12th, 2012, the class came to my farm. It was actually a journalism class, co-taught by 2 guest instructors. The instructors were two powerhouse instructors, Owen Bennett Jones of the BBC and P. Sainath, the Rural Affairs editor for The Hindu, the largest english newspaper in India.

I have done many such tours before but this class, which I believe were freshman, was one of the brightest and most articulate groups I have ever dealt with. It was an extremely fun event for me. I got to blab for about two hours. It was “Chris-unplugged.” I at the time though did not realize who either of them were, much to my embarrassment later.

After I finished and before the group went on to their next stop, both Professors introduced themselves and asked if they could interview me for subsequent pieces. P. introduced himself as an editor at The Hindu and Owen introduced himself as a BBC correspondent. I happily agreed.

P Sainath and I had a number of discussions over the phone and the outstanding piece by P. Sainath that ran in the December 3rd edition of The Hindu was entitled “Knowing your onions in New York.”

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/sainath/knowing-your-onions-in-new-york/article4156928.ece

Owen called me the next day after the tour and when his name popped up on the caller id I immediately felt like a total idiot. He never said his name as we spoke and I profusely apologized to him that I didn’t recognize him. I’ve heard him many times over the years when his BBC reports have been carried by local National Public Radio stations. he was not offended at all and we had a few conversations and I sent him a number of materials about my family in particular and my public policy activities over the years, which totally fascinated him.

A few years ago my second cousin Theresa Hutt put together a family history of the Pawelski side of the family. This history included a number of fascinating documents. So I sent it on to Owen.

On November 24th, 2012, Owen’s profile of my family, including my great-grandfather Frank as well as my policy work aired. It was one of his segments for “From Our Own Correspondent.” Here is the link, just fast forward to the 18:30 mark:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01p02n9

Owen’s piece’s like the piece by P. Sainath, is fantastic. I just love how he correctly pronounces our last name.

Here is a link to my new public policy organization Farmroot, which is what I alluded to when I spoke to Owen:

http://www.farmroot.org/index.html

Finally, here are some pages from my second cousin’s family history document as well as some old photos of my family, including my great grandfather Frank and grandmother Julia.

As I have mentioned multiple times previously my campaign to raise funds for an editor will be featured in an upcoming episode of the new Crowd Funder Show.

https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/1efvb/ab/72OxNc

What is the Crowd Funder Show and what does it mean to appear on the show? According to their website:

The Crowd Funder TV Show highlights various ideas that have been selected based on their merit for creativity, social relevance, and commercial viability. Each episode focuses the spotlight on six or seven inspiring projects and personal goals that give the viewing audience insight into the campaign, its principal, and the reason(s) why it should come to fruition. The Crowd Funder TV Show highlights various ideas that have been selected based on their merit for creativity, social relevance, and commercial viability.

What is so neat about their crowd funding method, versus Kickstarter’s, is that it is not “all or nothing.” Further, the rewards are much more exciting. Again, from their website:

Viewers can choose to support the projects they watch by contributing directly to the campaign website or by calling a toll-free number. The Crowd Funder Show rewards contributors with sponsored gift cards for the same amount of money they contribute, up to $100. Supporting people and their projects has never been easier so it’s no wonder you can’t help but feel like you’re a part of something special. The Crowd Funder TV Show is an interesting, inspiring program that highlights human ingenuity and co-operation.

When you go to my page you will see locations once can choose from for the gift card include: Sears, Best Buy, Home Depot and Toys R Us. So, if you plan on doing any shopping at any of these locations anyway you are essentially donating to my cause for free. A total win-win!

Enjoy the pictures!

My great grandfather, taken not long before his passing in 1968.

My great grand parents Frank & Julia Pawelski along with my Aunt Clara and I believe cousin Denise, taken in 1954.

My great grandfather and my dad, Richard Pawelski.