ELGIN - There’s this story preserved on an old, yellow piece of newsprint. It mentions there were so many members of the Moser clan at the local annual Future Farmer.
PROFILE: MEET AMBER MOSER McNEIL, CORVIAS - FORT SILL OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
ELGIN - There’s this story preserved on an old, yellow piece of newsprint. It mentions there were so many members of the Moser clan at the local annual Future Farmer of America (FFA) banquets that the speakers often referred to the gatherings as Moser family reunions.
The newspaper article was about Amber Moser McNeil’s great-grandfather Frank Moser, who was a loved and respected Ag teacher. He got his start in Cyril in the 1930s and was also affectionately known as “Dad” to many.
He firmly and passionately believed in the importance of agricultural education through programs like FFA and 4-H and passed that dedication and legacy down through the generations.
Amber Moser McNeil is a product of that legacy.
EARLY DAYS
Amber’s father, Darrell Moser, had followed in his grandfather’s footsteps and became a well-respected Ag teacher in the area. He had grown up in Cyril and was the Elgin High School Agriculture teacher from 1976 until he passed away in 1982.
Her mother, Shirley (Pack) Moser, grew up in Fletcher and spent her early adulthood raising children, Amber said, and always trying to make a positive difference. She was a homemaker and a teacher.
They lived a rural life, although they didn’t farm. The 10 acres near Elgin was used for livestock projects - show animals and stock shows.
Her mom tried to foster a love for reading in her children by bringing home from the library award-winning children’s books. Titles that still stick out in Amber’s mind today are animal-related stories by Oklahoma author Bill Wallace, such as A Dog Called Kitty, and books by another Oklahoma author, Wilson Rawls, who wrote titles such as Where the Red Fern Grows and Summer of the Monkeys.
“Growing up, I saw my parents give. My Dad poured his heart and soul into his ag students. He took very seriously the influence he could have in helping to shape them into productive, successful adults,” Amber said.
“After we lost Dad to cancer, Mom would load up my three brothers and me (all under the age of 11) to knock doors, soliciting donations for the American Cancer Society.
“Fundraising is a humbling experience, no doubt. But I’m thankful for these memories and the lessons she instilled in us early on – that even in the midst of sadness and loss, we have the capacity to give, to improve a situation, to make a difference,” she said.
4-H and FFA
Amber is passionate about the life lessons and character building for young people that can be achieved through the programs of 4-H and FFA.
One of those life lessons came early for her as a seventh grade 4-H member when she had two lambs die.
“That was tough,” she said. “It was a lesson about responsibility. These lessons were reinforced in me when I joined FFA.
“The FFA motto is Learning to Do. Doing to Learn. Earning to Live. Living to Serve. Our ag teachers exposed us to many opportunities to make our community a better place to live and encouraged us to give back.
“We picked up trash and cleaned up the highway coming into Elgin. We visited nursing homes and made relationships with those residents. We delivered fruit baskets to needy families during the holidays.
“As we became older members, they made sure we understood the impact we could have on younger members and encouraged us to be good role models.
“My year as a State FFA Officer was definitely one of giving. Mr. Boggs taught us about servant leadership, and it was really my first chance to give back to the organization that meant so much to me,” she said.
AGRICULTURE COMMUNICATOR
Amber graduated from Elgin High School in 1994 and began her studies at Oklahoma State University. She already knew she wanted to be an Ag Communicator after she had experienced a television personality lambasting the livestock programs in Oklahoma in on-air interviews.
“She didn’t tell our purpose,” Amber said, with a hint of sadness in her voice. It gave the young woman a sense of direction, however; and Amber was determined to give a voice to the importance of agriculture programs in Oklahoma.
She was a State FFA Officer her freshman year at Oklahoma State University and graduated in 1998 with an Ag Communications major. She interned with the OETA Agriculture News program “Sunup” and went on to become a weekend television anchor at KSWO in Lawton.
Her experience in communications and reporting and marketing eventually led to her current position at Fort Sill. Amber went to work for Corvias Military Living in 2012 as a Regional Communications Manager.
After a few years in the position, she was encouraged by a supervisor to look at other opportunities in the company outside of the communications department. This led to a promotion and title of Operations Director, which she has held for about the last five years.
“It’s so fulfilling,” she said. “I get to help take care of soldiers and their families.”
FAMILY
Amber’s husband, Justin McNeil, is a 1996 Elgin High School graduate and is the current Director of the SCORE program at Great Plains Technology Center in Lawton.
They have two sons: Gunner, who will be a junior at Elgin Hill School this year, and who has been an FFA member since eighth grade. Gage will be going into seventh grade and is a 4-H member. He will become an FFA member next year.
“Justin and I grew up here. We went off, came back and chose to raise our family here. At one time I thought I wanted to be a Katie Couric (well-known television news personality). But I decided that life wasn’t for me. I want to be involved with my family and be of service in my community.
“We’re trying to raise a couple of different humans that will also learn to give back and to think about things beyond themselves,” she said.
“I hope that our boys see in me what I saw in my Mom and Dad, my ag teachers and grow up to be servants of their communities and want to make a positive difference. and her agriculture teachers for being the examples of service that she tries to follow today.
“Community service is the most important thing that I am super passionate about,” she said.
Her list of organizations that she participates in and volunteer activities is extensive. She has been a member of the Elgin School Board since 2014. This year she is serving as President of the Board.
She said she lives by the motto of “Give where you live.”
“Oklahoma FFA is at the top of my list that has made a positive difference in my life and I will spend the rest of my life giving back,” Amber said. “In addition, helping to educate the general public about Agriculture is so important.
“Our general population is uneducated about production agriculture and what it takes to get food from the pasture to the plate and it is terrifying. Family farms are under attack. So many people are disconnected from the farm life. A statistic came out that said about 16 million Americans think chocolate milk comes from brown cows.” She shook her head in disbelief.
LEGACY
Amber is grateful for her life and her family and the opportunities she has been given. She is mindful of her legacy and the responsibility to pass it on.
“My brothers and I started a memorial scholarship to honor our parents. It’s called the Darrell and Shirley Moser Memorial Scholarship. It’s given each year to a Senior Elgin FFA member who has shown livestock. This is our third year to present the scholarship.
“We also created the Darrell Moser Memorial Trust
Amber with son Gunner as he receives a State FFA Speech Champion award.
Scholarship with the Oklahoma FFA Foundation. It goes to an Oklahoma FFA member who will attend the Oklahoma Future AG Ed Teacher Academy.
“I want everyone to know how awesome and life changing FFA can be,” Amber said.
She has taken the FFA Motto of “Learning to Do; Doing to Learn; Earning to Live; Living to serve,” and made it her life’s passion.