WILLIAMSTON — Organizers filed away another successful year of the Northeast Regional Ag Expo.

Last week’s annual expo was held at the Sen. Bob Martin Eastern Agricultural Center in Williamston and drew a crowd of about 1,000 students, according to Sarah Stalls, who helped organize the event.

“This year, we had the most exhibitors of an Ag Expo in the six years,” Stalls said.

Jason Brown, a former NFL player, served as the guest speaker. Brown is a Vance County native who was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in 2005. He then went on to play for the St. Louis Rams before becoming a full-time farmer in 2012.

Brown owns and operates First Fruits Farm in Louisburg, and donates his crops to local food pantries for hunger relief efforts.

Other big names in attendance were: Larry Wooten, N.C. Farm Bureau president; Richard Linton, dean of the N.C. State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Robert Hosford, with the Department of Agriculture office in Raleigh; and Amos Lanier, Future Farmers of America state vice president.

“We are so thankful for all our sponsors, which ranged from $100 to $1,500, and they are all critical to the success of this event,” Stalls said. “They allow us to run an event that every qualifying student … can attend with no cost to the student.”

The Northeast Regional Ag Expo is made possible every year thanks to a continued collaboration between Beaufort County Schools and Beaufort County Farm Bureau. The first expo was held in 2013 at Northside High School. The event then grew to a regional one in 2015, prompting the move to the Ag Center venue that year.

Participating counties outside of Beaufort include: Bertie, Hyde, Martin, Pitt, Tyrrell and Washington, among others.

“Beaufort County Farm Bureau was the first to step up and support this effort, and today, they are still a priceless partner. Since this event has begun growing, Farm Bureau boards in these other counties are following the lead of our original partner,” Stalls said.