For Jon Poppell, the Florida Strawberry Festival is always a homecoming.
The Plant City native and vice president of personal lines at Poppell Insurance was elected to the festival’s board of directors in September 2016. A position became vacant in June with the death of longtime director
Terry Ballard. Though his election was recent, Poppell’s service to the biggest event in Plant City spans decades.
Prior to being elected, Poppell served as an associate director for 15 years. Like many of his fellow Redcoats, his contributions to the festival began with volunteering.
“The festival has a tremendous amount of volunteers,” Poppell said. “That’s the lifeblood of the festival. I liked volunteering.”
Florida Strawberry Festival President Dan Walden also works for Poppell Insurance, and both have been active for years in the festival’s many events. When Walden was serving as the chairman for the Youth Livestock Swine Show and Sale, he encouraged Poppell to start volunteering.
“I showed steers as a teenager at the festival,” Poppell said. “I always showed steers, from seventh grade to my senior year of high school.”
Following his graduation from high school, Poppell attended Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia, before graduating from Florida Southern College in Lakeland. He’s worked for Poppell Insurance for close to 30 years, but his involvement in the festival is the equivalent of a second job.
From his days as a volunteer, Poppell took over some of Walden’s responsibilities as he moved up the ranks, eventually filling in as the chairman of the swine committee. To date, he still serves as chairman of the steer committee.
“I’m still in charge of the steer show,” he said. “Every director kind of has an area of responsibility, which is what makes it work. I look forward to learning about more than just the agriculture area, but that will always be my first love. I love working with the kids.”
Poppell and his wife of almost 30 years, Leslie, have passed down the love of agriculture to their sons, Daniel and Seth.
“They both went to the University of Florida,” Poppell said. “Daniel is a seed salesman for Clifton Seed, and Seth works for W & W Supply Company of Florida.”
In addition to his work with the festival, Poppell was also a charter member of Plant City’s Daybreak Rotary Club. He has been a member of the Noon Rotary Club for about 15 years, and served as chairman of the United Food Bank of Plant City for two years. He still serves on the food bank’s board.
“I love it here,” Poppell said. “All my life I’ve been here, and I’ve never wanted to leave.The festival is the biggest family reunion in the county. I’ll see people there that I only see once a year, and they might live two miles from me. Everybody strolls through eventually.”
He would encourage anyone who wants to get involved with the festival to find an area they’re passionate about — such as agriculture — and pursue it.
“There are a bunch of opportunities,” he said. “There’s people that are ambassadors that have been doing it for 30 years or longer. Whatever you’re interested in, they can usually find something to put you in.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.