"Home team" typically refers to a favorite sports team. But Christine Tew’s home team is made up of the people who root hardest for her.
They are the network of people she’s met in her life who are her friends, peers, and role models – a network that began when she first joined 4-H at age 7.
"4-H really set me on the path to growing my network," said Tew, the Missouri Soybean Association’s director of communications and public relations.
Originally, Tew joined her local 4-H club on a whim, to hang out with her friends who, unlike her, were farm kids. Before she knew it, she was attending 4-H camp, participating in poultry and dairy judging, learning how to give public speeches, and serving as a district representative on the State 4-H Council.
Some of her favorite memories include learning how to swim at 4-H camp and meeting great friends.
"For me, 4-H was about meeting the people that are going to continue to support me, personally and professionally, in my future," said Tew.
And that’s exactly what happened.
Tew combined an interest in yearbook and agriculture classes and majored in Agriculture Journalism at the University of Missouri.
"I came into this industry because of the people – great people – who motivated me and cheered me on," said Tew.
As Tew made her way through 4-H, Collegiate 4-H and MU’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, her home team grew.
She earned her Master of Science in Parks, Recreation and Tourism and taught at Mizzou. Later, she worked for the Missouri Department of Agriculture in communications prior to her role at the Missouri Soybean Association.
The key to her success?
Her hometeam. Her network. The people that she’s connected with.
Tew wants to provide that same home-team connection and support for farmers.
Tew makes it her mission to work with and for farmers every single day at the Missouri Soybean Association, telling their stories and connecting people in the agriculture industry.
"I’m here to make the good days better, and when things aren’t going so well, I’ll make the bad days feel not so bad," she said.
Tew stands up for the American farmer just like her home team – full of 4-H friends, youth specialists, parents, and agriculture professionals – stands up for her.