From shelling peas and snapping green beans with her Granny to playing in the creeks and woods of Craig County to serving as Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry for the Commonwealth of Virginia, Bettina Ring has made a lot of timeless memories over the years. Bettina was appointed to her newest position by Governor Ralph D. Northam in December.
As Secretary, she oversees and provides policy guidance to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) and the Virginia Racing Commission (VRC). Agriculture and forestry are two of Virginia’s largest private industries, with a combined economic impact of over $91-billion per year and providing approximately 450,000 jobs in Virginia.
Bettina’s responsibilities also include providing leadership to the Governor’s Agriculture and Forest Industries Development Fund (AFID), which is administered by VDACS. She also leads Governor Northam’s agricultural export initiative, which seeks to increase exports of Virginia’s agricultural and forest products into the global marketplace. Bettina also provides general oversight of the Virginia Wine Board, the Virginia Agricultural Council and the Virginia Marine Products Board.
Bettina is the daughter of the late Keith Ring and Betty Ring, who still lives in Craig County. Bettina grew up just outside New Castle and attended Craig County schools, where she was particularly interested in science and active in the Future Farmers of America club. In a telephone interview, Bettina stated that she is a big believer in the public-school system and praised the great teachers who taught her when she was in school.
Bettina’s love of nature began at an early age while gardening with her grandparents, playing in the “branch” that flowed through their property and exploring the woods around the family’s cabin in the Tub Run area. Her strong ethic was instilled by her parents and grandparents. As a youngster, she knew that she wanted to work in the natural resources field. Bettina worked with the Youth Conservation Corps in her junior and senior years of high school, working with the Forest Service in Craig County. She then went on to attend Virginia Tech, graduating with a B.S. in forestry and wildlife before later completing her MBA at James Madison University.
Bettina began her career with the Virginia Department of Forestry, working there for 14 years. One of her positions was manager of the Urban and Community Forestry program. She also served as Regional Forester in the Central Region for a year before being selected as Deputy State Forester. She then moved to Colorado and on to the San Francisco Bay area where she led nonprofit land conservation organizations. While in California, Bettina lived just south of Sonoma and Napa and was the Executive Director of the Bay Area Open Space Council, working to foster an interconnected system of healthy communities with parks, trails, agricultural lands and natural areas in the region. She stated that she learned a great deal from farmers and ranchers there and became even more passionate about agriculture.
Bettina then returned to Washington, DC, to serve as Senior Vice President of family forests at the American Forest Foundation, overseeing the American Tree Farm System.
Former Governor Terry McAuliffe appointed Bettina to serve as the State Forester of the Virginia Department of Forestry. She served in this position until she was appointed as Virginia’s Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry by Governor Northam, taking office in January 2018.
Numerous family members and friends from Craig County attended the swearing-in ceremony in Richmond in January. Bettina’s mother, Betty Ring, was chosen to hold the Bible during the ceremony. Betty stated, “It was an honor to get to hold the Bible while she was sworn in. I’m so proud of what Bettina has accomplished.” The ceremony was made more special because the Bible belonged to Bettina’s maternal grandmother.
Promoting rural economic development in Virginia and growing the economy while protecting the environment is one of Bettina’s goals in her new position. Her plans to accomplish this include increasing the export of agricultural and forest products, keeping farm and forest land in the family, promoting good land stewardship and providing additional funding for Ag Best Management Practices.
After a very busy few months of attending General Assembly sessions, meetings and conferences, and settling into life in Richmond, Bettina returned to Southwest Virginia for a day in March. She was the keynote speaker at the Virginia Farm Bureau Women’s Spring Conference in Roanoke.
Bettina’s journey from Craig County to Charlottesville, to Colorado, California, Washington, DC, back to Charlottesville and then to Richmond and on to a trip to China in May proves that you can make a difference regardless of where you grow up. We look forward to hearing more about Bettina’s travels and accomplishments during her tenure as Virginia’s Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry.
-Submitted by Ann G. Harrell
