Latest Class Of Mid-Columbia Ag Hall of Fame to Be Inducted Thursday

The latest members of the Mid-Columbia Ag Hall of Fame will be inducted during a gala dinner Thursday in Pasco. Now in its 17^th year, the Hall honors those who have had a major impact on the Columbia Basin agriculture community.  Pasco Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Colin Hastings points out these individuals and groups are very hard working and humble people.

“You know, they live here, they’re part of the community as well.  They want to see this area thrive, they want to make the world a better place as well as wanting to feed the world.”

Hastings adds this year, as in past years, inductees are not limited to farmers or producers.

“And all of the support industries that go along with that as well too, or those who have made the ag industry better.”

The 2017 inductees include:

The Mid-Columbia Ag Hall of Fame Pioneer Award honors individuals who have had a significant influence on the development of agriculture and unselfishly served their communities. The 2017 inductee is William W.T. Bennett of BB Cattle Company in Connell. He was born in 1926 and grew up on a cattle ranch in Colfax. He attended Washington State University and managed the WSU beef-cattle herd for six years before becoming a manager and partner in TT Herefords of Connell. He purchased the company land in 1969 and founded BB Cattle Company. Bennett has been awarded numerous honors as a cattleman and seed-stock producer and has been active in serving the Connell community.

The Rising Star title, which acknowledges a young person committed to agriculture and community service, will be conferred on Rob Mercer, owner of Mercer Estates Winery. Four generations of his family have farmed in the Horse Heaven Hills, and they were among the first to plant wine grapes in the region in 1972. Rob graduated from WSU, served as a Marine Corps officer and returned to manage the family business in 1995. He has served on the boards of the Columbia and Snake River Irrigators and the Washington Wine Commission, and has been a tireless promoter of the Washington wine industry. He serves on the WSU Tri-Cities Advisory Council, which was instrumental in the development of the WSU Wine Science Center in Richland. The entire Mercer family is known for their patriotism and community service, and in 2010 the winery was honored with an Environmental Excellence Award from the Association of Washington Business for its exemplary environmental practices.

The Agriculture Advisor Award is given to an individual who has had a significant impact through mentoring of young people in ag-related industries. This year the honor goes to Gerry Ringwood, the director and principal of Tri-Tech Skills Center in Kennewick, a school that serves seven school districts and teaches vocational skills to more than 900 students a year. Ringwood studied ag education at WSU and graduated in 1977. He taught agriculture courses and advised FFA students in Finley for 18 years, taking a year off to get a master’s degree in adult education. He has directed Tri-Tech since 1997. He has served and chaired many education organizations, earned numerous awards for his service and testified on vocational training before legislative committees. He is also co-owner of farming operations in Finley, Quincy and Sprague.

The Stewardship Award is presented to someone who has served the community and displayed leadership in agriculture over a long period. Merle Booker, owner of Booker Auction Company of Eltopia, will receive the honor for 2017. He earned a degree in animal science at WSU in the mid-1970s, and his first jobs after graduation were on area farms and in sales of pivot irrigation systems and area real estate. When the farm economy slumped in the 1980s, he began helping farmers liquidate their property and equipment, and he formed the Booker Auction Company. The company grew to regional and national prominence, and today has a modern marketing facility in Eltopia. Booker has served on the boards of many industry organizations and worked unselfishly for the betterment of the community. The entire Booker family is involved in the auction business and in actively supporting youth programs such as the Junior Livestock Show.

The Visionary Award is a special honor that is conferred through a consensus of the Ag Hall of Fame Committee members. This year, three individuals were chosen for their key roles in the creation of the Pasco Processing Center — retired Pasco City Manager Gary Crutchfield, retired Port of Pasco Executive Director Jim Toomey, and retired Franklin PUD General Manager Ken Sugden. Faced with declining employment at the Hanford Site in the 1980s, their vision was to develop an industrial park for food-processing operations. Under their leadership, the plan became a key economic-development strategy of each of their organizations. The Port of Pasco purchased land north of Pasco, the city leased surrounding farmland to receive treated wastewater, and Franklin PUD installed the needed electrical infrastructure. They worked together to secure the first tenant, J.R. Simplot, in 1995. Today, companies in the Pasco Processing Center employ about 1,200 full-time family-wage workers and provide nearly $1.7 million in property-tax revenue. By all measures, due to the vision of these three men, the Pasco Processing Center has been a resounding success.

The Agriculture Hall of Fame Gala will be held on Thursday, Jan. 19, at the Pasco Red Lion, starting with a social hour at 5:30 p.m.

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