February 2020 Veteran of the Month: Glyen Holmes II

From left: Attorney General Ashley Moody, Governor Ron DeSantis, FDACS Veteran of the Month for February 2020 Glyen Holmes II, Commissioner Nikki Fried, and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis

Military Service

Artillery soldier in the Alabama National Guard. Left the Guard in 2016 after six years of service as a Specialist (E-4).

Agriculture Service

Farm Manager for the New North Florida Cooperative Farm to School Program.

Biography

Glyen Holmes II is a veteran of the Alabama National Guard and a Farm Manager with the New North Florida Cooperative Farm to School Program. In the Alabama National Guard he served in the 117th Field Artillery Regiment in Troy, Alabama, as a Cannon Crewmember (artillery soldier). In this capacity he operated the howitzer cannons that support infantry and tank units during combat. While he never received the opportunity to deploy overseas, Glyen is proud of the work that he did to keep the Alabama National Guard ready for mobilization. During his military service, Glyen was awarded the Army Achievement Medal.

As a Farm Manager for the New North Florida Co-op, Glyen grows crops, manages crop processing, and makes deliveries to various school systems in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. This spring, he plans to plant butternut squash, collard greens, corn and turnip greens. 

In addition to his work with the Farm to School program, Glyen assists Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) in planting and harvesting vegetables on the university's farm in Quincy. He has also taught classes in record keeping for the USAID Farmer to Farmer program in Gujarat, India.

Glyen received his Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Troy University and Master of Science degree in agricultural sciences with a concentration in agribusiness from FAMU.