Farmers are the backbone of our country and Lancaster County. The Mount Joy Rotary Club wants to recognize and honor their work. The club will host a Farmers' Luncheon on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at noon. It will be held at The Gathering Place, 6 Pine St., Mount Joy.

This year's event will feature a special guest of honor, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding.

"Mike Melhorn from our club reached out to Secretary Redding's office about Farmers' Day," shared Rotary Club president Greg Sallade, who added that this date worked best with Redding's schedule. "National Farmers' Day is actually on Oct. 12."

The event will feature a lunch of a salad, an entree, a drink and desserts, along with remarks from club members, who will provide brief updates on the Rotary's work.

"The majority of time, Secretary Redding will speak," Sallade said.

Redding has served as the state's Secretary of Agriculture under three governors, beginning in 2009. He grew up on his family's dairy farm and earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees in agriculture education and agriculture and extension education, respectively, from Penn State. He owns and operates a farm in the Gettysburg area with his wife, Nina.

Sallade invites farmers in the Mount Joy and surrounding areas to attend the luncheon.

"I heard Secretary Redding is a good speaker, and we have never had the Secretary of Agriculture speak here before," he added.

The Rotary Club of Mount Joy will also host a Veterans Day breakfast on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at The Gathering Place. It will run from 7 to 8:30 a.m. and is open to all veterans and their guests.

Both the luncheon and the breakfast are events that reflect the Rotary Club's mission of providing service to the community. With a motto of "Service Above Self," the club has been active since 1926. The club and its members support a variety of projects in the community, all under "The Four Way Test" code of ethics: Is it fair, will it build goodwill, will it strengthen friendships and will it be beneficial to all concerned? The club is composed of community leaders, business owners and other individuals who believe in giving back.

"We do a lot of good things for our local community," Sallade said.

Registration is requested for both the Farmers' Luncheon and the Veterans Day Breakfast. The deadline to register for the luncheon is Friday, Oct. 30. The deadline for the breakfast is Friday, Nov. 6. To register, visit http://www.mountjoyrotary.org. For questions, contact Joanne Pinkerton at joanne@gatheringplacemj.com.