Orange County beef producer Thomas E. Graves of Orange was recognized Jan. 30 for 15 years of service on the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation board of directors.

VFBF President Wayne F. Pryor presented an award to Graves at a Farm Bureau board meeting in Richmond.

As the organization’s District 7 director, Graves represents Farm Bureau producer members in Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, King George, Madison, Orange, Prince William, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties.

Graves chairs the VFBF Legislative Advisory Committee and is vice chair of the VFBF Forestry Advisory Committee. He is a charter director of the State Fair of Virginia Youth Development Board and serves on the oversight committee for The Meadow Event Park.

He served on the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation AgPAC board of trustees for seven years and the VFBF AgPAC executive committee for two years. He served four years on the American Farm Bureau Federation Forestry Advisory Committee and also worked with AFBF and VFBF to hold the first Farm Bureau-sponsored campaign school for citizens running for public office in Virginia.

Graves serves on the VFBF Compensation Committee and the Countryway Insurance Co. board of directors. He is a past president and past board member of Orange County Farm Bureau.

He also served four years on the Orange County Board of Supervisors. He previously served as chair of the Dogwood Village Senior Living Inc. board and served on the boards of the Dogwood Village Foundation and Dogwood Village Health and Rehab. He is a past president and past board member of the Orange County Fair Association Inc.

Graves and his family operate a 1,500-acre beef cattle farm. He and his wife, Jenny, have two children and five grandchildren. He attends Macedonia Christian Church.

With almost 135,000 members in 88 county Farm Bureaus, VFBF is Virginia’s largest farmers’ advocacy group. Farm Bureau is a non-governmental, nonpartisan, voluntary organization committed to supporting Virginia’s agriculture industry.