Shelton Named to AFR Board of Directors

Jim Shelton, of Vinita, has been named to the American Farmers & Ranchers (AFR) Board of Directors, filling a vacancy created by the resignation of Jerry Nick earlier this year. Shelton will finish out Nick’s term which expires February 2013. The board interviewed five very highly-qualified candidates before choosing Shelton. Read more...

Shelton is retired from the Oklahoma State Bank of Vinita after 35 years. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at SMU in Dallas. He recently received the degree of Honorary State FFA degree at the 2012 convention.

Jim was in Class I of the Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Program and Class XIV of Leadership Oklahoma. He has been involved in many local and civic organizations. He has served as president of the Vinita Public School Board, treasurer of the Vinita Public Schools Educational Foundation, president of the Vinita Lions Club, and president of the Vinita Chamber of Commerce. He was also a member of the oversight committee for the construction of the new Craig County Community Center. Shelton has been a board member of the Cherokee Hills RC&D Council, a member of the Long Range Capital Planning Commission for the State of Oklahoma, director of the Oklahoma State University Alumni Association, a member of the OSUAA Leadership Council, a board member for the OSU Animal Science Alumni Association, and currently serves on the board of directors of Holistic Management International in Albuquerque, N.M. Shelton is also a member of the session at the Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita.

AFR President Terry Detrick recently spent time with Shelton at a Board Training Boot Camp in St. Louis, Mo.

“Jim and his wife Sara have been AFR/OFU members and supporters for 24 years,” Detrick said. “They have a successful ranching operation that specializes in premium quality grass-fed beef production for that niche market. Jim has a lot of background experience valuable to AFR/OFU and I look forward to serving our membership along-side him.”

Shelton and his wife work their ranching operation together. They have four grown children—2 boys and 2 girls. Their oldest, Tom, has a construction and electrical contracting business. Their older daughter, Elizabeth, is a congressional legislative aid in Washington D.C. Will, their younger son, is an apprentice working toward his electrician’s license on the construction of a high-voltage electric line in Amarillo, Texas. Mary Kate, their younger daughter, is an event planner for a nonprofit firm in Washington, D.C.

American Farmers & Ranchers was established in 1905, and is headquartered in Oklahoma City. AFR is actively supportive of Oklahoma’s agricultural industry and rural population, and provides educational, legislative, and cooperative programs across the state. AFR also provides insurance products statewide, and is recognized as a leading domestic insurance carrier in the state of Oklahoma.