Beaufort County Farm Bureau recently made a contribution of $1,000 to benefit the Battleship North Carolina.

The contribution came from a challenge issued by NC Farm Bureau Federation Board of Directors to county Farm Bureaus across the state. This summer, the board asked county Farm Bureaus to donate a minimum level of $25 per each board member currently serving, according to a NC Farm Bureau press release. The donation challenge will benefit the Battleship North Carolina Generations Campaign, the effort to restore and save the battleship.

Mike Godley, president of Beaufort County Farm Bureau, said the challenge seemed to resonate with the board members in Beaufort County.

“Most everybody remembered taking a field trip at school or with family and being on the battleship,” Godley said. “In very short order, the challenge was just passed right by with no hiccup at all. That was a very easy thing for the board to do. They were certainly moved to do it.”

Godley said though the donation didn’t necessarily align with the organization’s mission to improve the lives of farmers across the state, it was something that was close to the hearts of the board members, many of whom had family members serve in World War II or had at least visited the battleship at some point in their lifetimes.

“This is more a matter or pride and gratitude toward those who have served our country and Beaufort County,” Godley said. “The memory of that and the respect for that is something that is important to preserve.”

In response to the challenge by the NCFB, 93 county Farm Bureaus collectively donated $54,826. The Federation challenge was to meet or exceed the NC Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company’s $25,000 donation. But after the great response from county agencies, the challenge was somewhat reversed and an amount of $100,000 was the final contribution, thanks to affiliated companies bringing the contribution up to an amount higher than anticipated, according to Godley.

“Our contribution shows the deep pride and gratitude we have for those 362,500 North Carolinians who served and the 7,109 heroes who lost their lives in World War II,” said Larry Wooten, president of North Carolina Farm Bureau (NCFB). “We can be especially proud that 73 percent of those North Carolinians who served were from our state’s rural communities.”

Counties with full-board participation were presented with a plaque that incorporates original teak wood from the World War II battleship at the NCFB’s 80^th annual meeting, held Dec. 6-8, in Greensboro.

The contribution will be used to make much-needed repairs to the hull and docking of the battleship, allowing it to continue to be open for the public, Godley said.