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January 4, 2002

Texas Farm Bureau 'Builders'
Pioneers honored at TFB's 68th annual meeting...

For the 10th consecutive year the state's largest farm organization has presented another class of Texas Farm Bureau "Pioneers."

"Farm Bureau has always been about building," TFB Executive Director Vernie Glasson said at the recent annual meeting. "And for more than six decades, dedicated individuals across the Lone Star State have been building an organization that serves Texas agriculture and farm and ranch families.

"We honor these Texas Farm Bureau `Pioneers.' They are among the most important `builders' of Farm Bureau. We owe them a great debt."

Each year a Farm Bureau "Pioneer" is named for each of TFB's 13 districts and one for the TFB staff. This year's "Pioneers" include the following:

•District 1—Edward Dittberner. The Carson County Farm Bureau describes Edward Dittberner as "a humble and truly deserving pioneer in building Farm Bureau. He truly is "Mr. Farm Bureau."

Dittberner has been a member of Farm Bureau since 1969. He served on the Carson County Farm Bureau board of directors for more than 20 years and served as president from 1974-1976. Under his leadership, Carson County's membership grew substantially.

His years of leadership at the state level have greatly benefited the Texas wheat industry. He chaired the Texas Farm Bureau's Wheat Advisory Committee from 1980 to 1982 and represented the state at the American Farm Bureau Federation's Wheat Advisory Committee meetings.

•District 2—James "Morris" McKillip. A member of the Bailey County Farm Bureau since the 1950s, James "Morris" McKillip began serving on the county board of directors in 1957. He proved himself a true leader in this position, helping to organize the expansion and remodeling of the local county office. When important issues surfaced, McKillip's extensive knowledge of agriculture, taxes and general Farm Bureau policies put him at the forefront of discussions with the Texas Legislature.

He served on a number of county committees including membership, national and state affairs, policy development, feed grains, cotton, public relations, economic services and tax watch.

•District 3—T.J. Richards. The late T.J. Richards assembled an impressive record of service at Farm Bureau—at both the county and state levels.

In Cottle County, Richards served as president and board member. He was a member of the policy development and policy execution committees.

At the state level, Richards served on the Texas Farm Bureau board of directors from 1961-1975. During his time on the board, he helped found the Southwest Animal Health Research Foundation, which initiated a screwworm eradication program in the Southwestern United States and Mexico.

•District 4—Thomas "T.L." Taylor. Thomas "T.L." Taylor began his long history of service in the Grayson County Farm Bureau in 1948. He was elected vice president of the County Farm Bureau in 1982 and served as president from 1984-1985.

Over the years, Taylor has been a member of the membership, youth leadership, and national affairs committees.

Since 1982, he has attended 17 state conventions and has traveled through North America speaking on behalf of agriculture. Notably, he traveled to Mexico to address the Department of Agriculture, the Import Department, and U.S. Government Council on Free Trade.

•District 5—Euel Lacy. Euel Lacy has played a special role in the Smith County Farm Bureau. He joined the county organization in 1955 and served as a board member for 38 years—20 of them as president.

An active leader in the Smith County Farm Bureau, Lacy helped guide the organization through many difficult times. Also, he proved instrumental in helping Farm Bureau meet the evolving needs of its members by creating and changing county committee structures.

•District 6—Johnie Walker. The late Johnie Walker left a distinct mark on the agriculture industry in Howard County. He joined Farm Bureau in the late 1940s and was immediately active in building the organization and increasing its effectiveness.

He served as county secretary/treasurer from 1967-1971 and as president from 1972-1974. During his presidency, Howard County Farm Bureau experienced one of its best periods of membership growth.

Walker chaired the national affairs committee and was a member of the legislative, building, health, membership, nominating and policy development committees.

"Johnie Walker took a strong stand on Farm Bureau principles, which promote free enterprise and the right to own private property," the Howard County Farm Bureau said.

•District 7—James "Doyle" Condra. Runnels County Farm Bureau member James "Doyle" Condra has made great contributions at all levels of Farm Bureau.

He joined Farm Bureau in 1964 and has served on the Runnels County board of directors since 1967. He has completed terms as both president and vice president and has served on every County Farm Bureau committee. Currently, Condra chairs the membership and the sheep and goat committees.

Active in the state Farm Bureau organization, Condra served on the state board of directors for six years. He and his wife have maintained an almost flawless record of attendance at state conventions, participating in 35 conventions over the past 37 years.

At the national level, Condra and his wife have attended six American Farm Bureau conventions.

•District 8—Marion "Ed" Little. Because he has been an active member of two different county Farm Bureaus located over 400 miles apart, Marion "Ed" Little has a unique perspective on Farm Bureau structure and organization.

During the 1960s, Little was active in the leadership of the Bailey County Farm Bureau, serving as secretary/treasurer, vice president and president. He also attended numerous "market bui- lding" trips abroad.

Today, Little is an active member of the Bell County Farm Bureau. He is a member of the fruit and nut and the legislative committees.

In their nomination of Little, the Bell County Board said that he "is a man who can be counted on to assure the success of Farm Bureau and all Farm Bureau programs."

•District 9—Harold Hughes. A devoted member of the Shelby County Farm Bureau, Harold Hughes has concentrated his leadership abilities on advancing the organization's activities.

Hughes served as a board member and president of the Shelby County Farm Bureau for more than nine years. During this time, he worked to advance the organization's support of the FFA and 4-H, encouraging county members to contribute time and money to the children of Shelby County.

He has served on all county committees and on the state resolutions committee on five occasions.

A strong Farm Bureau advocate, Hughes has traveled to Austin to express his views to the state legislature and to Washington, D.C. to work on national issues.

•District 10—J.C. "Buddy" Oelkers. The late J.C. "Buddy" Oelkers was a voice for agriculture for over 70 years and a lifelong leader in the Dimmit County Farm Bureau. He served as president for 40 years, playing a key role in the construction of the county's new Farm Bureau office.

The Oelkers family was honored by Progressive Farmer magazine in 1964 as a "Master Farm Family." He was chosen "Man of the Year" in 1981 by the Dimmit County Chamber of Commerce and again in 1988 with a lifetime achievement award. Sadly, while returning home from the 1991 Texas Farm annual meeting, he suffered a heart attack that claimed his life.

•District 11—Joe Doby. In the words of the Washington Cou-nty Farm Bureau board of directors, "Joe Doby's leadership and dedication to the Washington County Farm Bureau has been outstanding."

Doby joined the Farm Bureau in 1984 and began serving on the Washington County Farm Bureau board of directors in 1989. During his tenure, Doby was instrumental in obtaining new office space for the Washington County Farm Bureau.

Active at the state level, Doby has served on the policy development committee and the state resolutions committee.

•District 12—Alvin Hahn. Alvin Hahn learned about Farm Bureau while attending vocational school in the 1940s. After completing his studies and returning home, he helped spread the news about the organization and helped found the Calhoun County Farm Bureau in 1949.

Hahn was elected to serve as the first president of the Calhoun County Farm Bureau.

After completing a 12-year term as president, he maintained his membership on the county Board, serving as county secretary-treasurer and as vice president.

He has been a member of the legislative, youth activities and national and state affairs committees.

•District 13—Leonard Smith. Leonard C. Smith demonstrated true leadership skills during many years of service as a member of the Live Oak County Farm Bureau.

He helped found the Live Oak County Farm Bureau and was elected to serve as the organization's first president. He was involved in the beef, state and national affairs, resolutions and feed grains committees and was chosen to serve on the Texas Farm Bureau state resolutions committee.

According to the Live Oak County Farm Bureau, Smith was especially dedicated to the community youth. Recognizing that they young people would assume leadership roles in Farm Bureau and the community, Smith devoted countless hours to youth activities including the county's queen and talent find contests.

•TFB Staff—Tommy Klemcke. There are many staff members who benefited from the example of Tommy Klemcke. There always seems to be a staff person on the Texas Farm Bureau team who can be counted on for a cool head, sound judgment and a willingness to put his or her shoulder to the wheel when there is some "heavy lifting" to be done. For 32 years, that person was Tommy Klemcke.

He joined the TFB staff in 1966. He began as a field representative and later worked as assistant state affairs director in the Austin legislative office.

Klemcke put in more than two decades as director of TFB's commodity activities department. During that time Farm Bureau's reputation as a key player in statewide commodity-related decisions was firmly established.

This was in no small part due to Klemcke's leadership and attention to details.

Tommy Klemcke finished his career as director of administration. He made the TFB facilities "second to none." The building on Fish Pond Road is in many ways a monument to Klemcke's hard work and devotion to Farm Bureau.