Brian O'Banion
Western Kentucky '95

Expansion Coordinator
Responsible for the Fraternity's expansion efforts, in addition to providing chartering support. He also leads our presence and staffing at the National FFA Career Show and assists with the FarmHouse Leadership Academy.

Brian O’Banion (WKU ‘95) was a charter member of the Western Kentucky chapter, and served as Association President from 1997 to 2005, Chapter President and V.P. New Member Education. He was also involved with the Baptist Student Union, Interfraternity Council, Greek Honors Society Order of Omega and Young Republicans. Brian has an extensive 12-year professional background and skill set in corporate training, team management, customer service, educational content development and delivery, marketing, sales and recruitment with Dillard's Corporation, Enterprise Car Rental, Nextel and most recently with the National Home Builders Association and owner of a real estate business based in Lexington, KY.

Brian is originally from Harrodsburg, Kentucky which is the first settlement in the state of Kentucky est. 1774, where he spent many days working on the family farm. Brian has 3 wonderful boys- Zachary Connor O’Banion 13 years, Joshua Palmer O’Banion 6 years, and Nicholas Duncan O’Banion 4 years who live in Kentucky. Brian spends his time in Overland Park Kansas with Melinda Poole a Mississippi State graduate. Melinda is an Equine Veterinarian and is a Product Development Manager (Equine) with Dechra Pharmaceuticals.

Lorie Widdice

Office Manager
Responsible for financial, database coordination (alumni mailing labels/lists), Regional Advisory Councils, chapter support/resources, website content, Conclave/conference registrations, term/initiation reports, jewelry orders, exhibit display reservations, additional insureds

Lorie Widdice joined the staff of FarmHouse Fraternity in June 1993 when headquarters moved from St. Joseph, MO to its current location in Kansas City, MO. She completed courses in Modern Business Technology at the Northland Career Center where she received the Outstanding Student Award and also became a member of the Vocational National Honor Society.

In August 2000 she was made an Honorary Member of Ceres Fraternity and currently serves as the Vice President of the Ceres International Board.

She is the mother of three children. Lindsey is active in cheerleading and barrel racing, Elijah plays baseball & football, and Quincey participates in Brownies. Lorie also barrel races and the whole family enjoys spending time with the horses. She and her children reside in Leavenworth, Kan.

Brian McCann, Ph.D.
Mississippi State '95

Web site Administrator
Responsible for Web site design for the International Office and Foundation and Web and technical assistance for chapters

Brian McCann (MS '95) has been with the FarmHouse International staff since 1996. He began his service to FarmHouse while still an undergrad at Mississippi State with the development of International's first website, which at that time was a new technology.

While at Mississippi State, Brian served the chapter as Treasurer and Kitchen Manager. He also was a member of the Famous Maroon Band, President of the Council of Student Organizations, President of Omicron Delta Kappa, and member of the Executive Board of Golden Key Honor Society. As a student broadcaster, Brian hosted his own talk show on the campus radio station and was an anchor/reporter for the evening newscasts.

Brian graduated from MSU in 1998 with a degree in Broadcast Meteorology, and took a job in Corpus Christi, TX as a television weatherman with the local NBC station. He returned to Mississippi State in 1999 to take over the News Director's position at WMSV radio and pursued a Master's degree in Meteorology, and later a Ph.D. in Education. Brian now works for the Center for Educational and Training Technology (CETT), a part of the Mississippi State Extension Service, where he is employed as an Associate Research Professor. As part of his job, he serves as the leader and co-leader on several multi-million dollar grant projects aimed at creating and improving distance education opportunities for grade school teachers of earth and ocean sciences.

Originally from Memphis, TN, Brian has served as the faculty advisor for the Mississippi State chapter of FarmHouse Fraternity since 1999, and has been a member of the local Association Executive Board since 2000. In his free time, he enjoys storm spotting/chasing and is an amateur radio enthusiast.

Allison Rickels, CFRE

Executive Director - FarmHouse Foundation
&administration of the Foundation, in particular face-to-face alumni visits, major gifts, planned & deferred gifts; gifts of stock, tangible personal property & real estate; monitor & supervise fundraising by the local Foundation Councils; approve & authorize distribution of Foundation Council funds; approve & authorize all Foundation grants;  Educational Portion of Chapter Housing; Chapter Housing Loan Program; scholarship funds; website content; Pearls & Rubies, especially layout & design, and the Foundation section of each issue.

Allison Rickels, CFRE, is Executive Director/CEO of The FarmHouse Foundation, in Kansas City, Mo. Allison has been a part of the FarmHouse International Office staff since July 2001, starting as the director of annual fund and communications, and more recently serving as the senior director of the annual fund and assistant secretary to the Board of Trustees. She also is the design editor for Pearls & Rubies, FarmHouse's quarterly membership magazine.

 A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Allison graduated in 2001 with Honors from the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) majoring in public relations, and minoring in marketing and journalism. She earned the designation of Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) in the fall of 2006 and is one of only 4,800 fundraising professionals to hold this international credential.

She is a member and leader of the MidAmerica Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), currently serving on the chapter's board of directors. She is secretary of the College Fraternity Editors Association (CFEA), the professional organization for those men and women who produce and edit the magazines and other media for social and professional fraternities. She recently received CFEA's Marilyn Simpson Ford Award, for outstanding service to the association.

As an undergraduate, Allison was a leader on campus and in the UNI chapter of her sorority, Alpha Phi. She has been an advisor to the Alpha Phi Chapter at Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., and is an active member of the alumnae chapter for the Kansas City area. She also serves on two committees at the international level of Alpha Phi. In short, she believes in the Greek experience.

Allison and her husband, Nick, live in Kansas City, Mo. and have one child, Sydney Michelle.

Andrea Ward

Annual Giving & Communications Coordinator - FarmHouse Foundation
Responsible for annual fundraising activities and initiatives, particularly direct mail, phone-a-thons, special events, undergraduate and young alumni giving, the electronic funds transfer program, non-member appeals, electronic solicitation, website content, internal and external communication materials and publications for the Foundation.

Andrea began work January 21, 2008 as the FarmHouse Foundation's Annual Giving & Communications Coordinator in Kansas City, Mo.

Originally from Plevna, Kansas, Ward graduated from Kansas State University in December of 2007 with a degree in marketing and a minor in leadership studies. She is an alumnus of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, and as an undergrad served as chapter president and risk management chair, and was involved in various other KSU student organizations and honor societies.

Bob Off, CFREColorado State '64

Executive Director Emeritus - FarmHouse Foundation
Responsible for major gifts, chapter housing capital campaigns & building funds.

Robert "Bob" Off (CO '64), Past Executive Director of FarmHouse Foundation, worked for FarmHouse for over 30 years.

Bob was an undergraduate member of FarmHouse's Colorado State chapter, initiated in 1964. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in English Literature in 1965 and his master's in English Literature in 1967 from Colorado State. After graduation he worked as Assistant Director of Student Housing at South Dakota State University. Bob served on staff at SDSU for two years before his career was interrupted with a 3-year stint in the U.S. Army. He was an intelligence officer with rank of captain from 1968 to 1971, serving 12 months in Korea. When Bob returned from Korea he returned to his position at SDSU. In 1973 he accepted his position with FarmHouse as Executive Director of FarmHouse Fraternity and Foundation.

In 1997, he began working full-time as Executive Director of FarmHouse Foundation. In the years since that move, annual giving to the Foundation Annual Fund has doubled, and the Foundation has surpassed a $2.8 million endowment.

Bob has served as the President of the Fraternity Executives Association in 1988-89; as an FEA Advisor to the National Interfraternity Council Board; and as President of the College Fraternity Editor's Association in 1979-80. He also is a member of several community and philanthropic organizations.

Bob and his wife Linda live in Santa Fe, NM. Their daughter Karlene lives in Phoenix, AZ.

Jo Berryman

Administrative Assistant
Responsible for Foundation administrative services, address changes

Nancy "Jo" Berryman joined the FarmHouse staff in May 2002 as part-time secretary for the FarmHouse Foundation. Before coming to FarmHouse, Jo retired from Honeywell in Kansas City where she worked for 31 years. She is a native of Lincoln, Neb.

Her volunteer activities include the Red Cross, King of Kings Church and tutoring for Laubach Literacy Program.

She and her husband, Bill, reside in northern Kansas City, Mo. She enjoys walking, hiking and family activities.