Sisterhood Spotlight

What is the mission of the Virginia Egg Council?

The mission of the Virginia Egg Council is to promote eggs as a high-quality protein product to consumers, health professionals, the food service industry and to school food service operators. The objective is to present the egg as an incredible product, a low-cost protein food, versatile and nutritious for all types of diets, occasions, and meal preparations.

Why is Agriculture important in Virginia?

Agriculture provides jobs for our people in the Commonwealth. Egg laying hens ranked 26th in the nation and 10th in commodity receipts in the Commonwealth. It highlights producers as responsible individuals who take their job very seriously. A great deal of respect goes out to the egg farmers in Virginia for upholding high standards of animal husbandry. I’ve seen firsthand how women gained recognition in various fields of agriculture and were respected for their achievements. The extension service plays a vital part in portraying agriculture to consumers, from backyard flocks to consuming and preparing nutritious foods.

What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them in your career?

Through the years, I’ve been faced with many challenges from the point where eggs were portrayed as a killer food to when eggs were said to be filled with viruses. So instead of illuminating lunch and learning programs for health professionals, we made egg white omelets which became a huge success. When covid hit our area, we had to stop all public programming but yet, our programs developed television segments about how to make comfort foods from home. New preparation ideas and themes were developed and challenged the consumer to branch out into new culinary fields with eggs as the focus of the segment. New ideas were presented to VDACS such as declaring May as Egg Month. The Egg council delivered power packed egg salad lunches to the hospitals in Richmond, Charlottesville, and the Fairfax County health department when they were dealing with a rise of covid patients. We treated them to an “Eggceptional” egg salad sandwich delivered and prepared by a caterer. They were singing praises to us for even considering the huge ordeal they had to deal with! 

What do you wish Virginia’s Women+girls knew about Virginia’s agricultural industry?

As an observer in an agricultural setting, I noticed a significant change in the leadership at the American Egg Board. At one time, there were a few women that sat on the AEB Board of Directors, but now there are many more young women assuming leadership roles in the industry. For the last three terms, the President of the American Egg Board was a woman. All these women had law degrees and expertise in agriculture. I see women using their agricultural background to easily fit into leading roles of research at Virginia Tech. I see many more women in poultry science. With a background in agriculture, the field is open to join in with communication skills, marketing practices and even nutritional fields would play an important role in agricultural jobs. These women have the ability to multitask and use their scientific knowledge to advance very quickly into managerial fields within the agriculture climate.   

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

As I look back upon my long career with the egg industry, I feel as though my career was so satisfying because people believed in me and challenged me to pursue projects and avenues I never would have believed I could have been so successful in. I realize that others who encourage a person to go beyond their capacities with a strong support system can lead an employee to go far beyond what was ever expected. This opportunity has provided me with a very successful career with fond memories, successful projects, dreams realized, and friendships made through networking and opened doors along the way.

About Cecilia Glembocki

Cecilia Glembocki has been working for the Virginia Egg Board as secretary and as Executive Director of the Virginia Egg Council for the past 44 years. Originally from Bristol, Connecticut, Cecilia made her home in Virginia in 1976. Starting in the Virginia Egg Council’s communications department, Cecilia’s journey to success began on her first day, after what she describes as “a short demonstration on how to present a bridal luncheon with champagne, eggs in pastry cups with a lovely hollandaise sauce on the side.” From there, Cecilia brought Virginia eggs across the country, serving unique and traditional egg dishes while educating the public about Virginia’s robust agricultural industry. Featured alongside celebrities like Howard Stern, Oprah Winfrey and Pat Robertson, Cecilia took the media by storm, appearing on local and national television and radio. Furthermore, Cecilia has worked alongside the American Egg Board for the annual White House Easter Egg roll for the past 42 years and was instrumental in starting the first Easter Egg Hunt for the Reagan administration. In 2019, Cecilia created and presented a unique egg design for First Lady Melania Trump using a quilling form of art, and notably decorated President Bush’s Christmas tree with egg ornaments during his tenure as Vice President.  

Throughout her decades of service, Cecilia has used her creativity and artistic talent to make eggs, agriculture and cooking practices a beloved part of Virginia tradition. As the final event in her career, Cecilia presented an egg designed for First Lady Youngkin at Richmond’s Executive Mansion. The wooden egg was crafted from hard rock maple wood with a laser engraved photo of Virginia’s Executive Mansion.