Greene County Farm Bureau held a member appreciation picnic Tuesday evening, July 30 at Clover Hall in Jefferson. Approximately 90 members attended and enjoyed a catered meal by Lidderdale Country Store.
County president James Holz welcomed everyone and introduced board members in attendance, office staff, and financial services agents.
Iowa Farm Bureau president Craig Hill gave the keynote address. Hill touched on a variety of subjects such as the importance of trade agreements for farmers. He also talked on the technology that NASA has developed that could aid the USDA in its crop reports by having information in real time as opposed to the current system.
Iowa Farm Bureau regional manager Maggie Cannon presented a plaque to board member Perry Parker for his distinguished service as county voting delegate for the last three years.
This year’s Greene County Distinguished Service to Agriculture award was presented to Tom Heun by voting delegate John McCormick.
McCormick read the following salutation:
“Periodically, the Greene County Farm Bureau presents its Distinguished Service to Agriculture award to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the progress of agriculture in Greene County.
“This year’s recipient, Tom Heun has been involved in ag lending and finance for his entire career; nearly 30 years of which were spent serving farmers and the ag industry in and around Greene County.
“Tom grew up on his family’s farm near Lake View in Sac County which he still assists in managing today along with his own small cow calf operation including hay and CRP.
“When his kids were in 4-H, he was always known in the beef barn as a steady, calm cattle dad willing to help any kid or their family. This winter, Tom was recognized for his tenure on the Greene County Cattlemen’s board. Over the course of two decades, he has helped with innumerable grilling events and board members enjoyed the fun times they all had together.
“As an ag loan officer serving out of Grand Junction and Bagley, he built lifelong relationships with farmers as a relationship-focused lender. His customers and co-workers describe Tom as a good listener, very smart, transparent with his questions and, above all, interested in truly helping his customer. One person said “working with Tom, I learned more about my finances and banking than I did with any other banker in my entire farming career. It never mattered if you were a big farmer, a small farmer, borrowing a lot or just a little, he treated everyone the same.”
“After transitioning from ag banking, he returned to Rueter’s as the CFO in 2015. While not working directly with farmers, he is still known to take the time to help anyone in need. One co-worker said, “the other day he changed the light bulb in the office because he was the only one tall enough to reach it. You don’t normally think of a CFO doing something like that. Being friendly and helpful, that’s just how Tom is.”
“Married to Jane, and the father of Adam, Dan and Anne, it is with great pleasure that I now present the 2019 Greene County Farm Bureau’s Distinguished Service to Agriculture award to Tom Heun.”
