Since 2021, Paul has been part of a county team that has developed an annual process that allows
representatives from the Agriculture (AG) Community to share their perspectives on the current
state of agriculture in Washington County with the County Executive. These sessions help inform
county operations and policies. In 2023, Paul presented the themes identified from the previous
year and facilitated a large group discussion of session participants. After the session, Paul authored
a report that included session notes, themes identified by participants, and evaluation results.

There were about 30 participants at the session and evaluations (N=19) indicated that 100% agreed
that the session allowed them the opportunity to share their thoughts on the AG Community
and 95% agreed that as a result of attending the session, the County demonstrated an interest in
supporting the AG Community. Overall, participants rated the session a 4.5 on a 5-point Likert Scale
(1=poor and 5=excellent). One participant commented “It was worthwhile. It’s the one time a year
that farmers get to voice their opinion and people listen.” Another commented that the event had
“Well managed discussion. Everyone given equal opportunity to share.”