Tim Leeds Havre Daily News tleeds@havredailynews.com
Longtime area ranchers and a longtime advocate for agriculture were honored at the Havre Area Chamber o f C omme r c e Ag r i -Bu s i n e s s Committee’s annual Ag Appreciation Banquet Saturday. Lon and Stacey Waid, Bear's Paw ranchers, were presented with the 2008 Outstanding Agricultural Leader Award and Terry Turner, Hill County Weed District and Havre Mosquito Control District supervisor, was pres e n t e d t h e 2 0 0 8 Ou t s ta n d i n g Agricultural Advocate Award at the banquet, held at the Havre Ice Dome. All three recipients are Havre natives and graduates of Havre High School. The banquet, a celebration of local agriculture, offered local residents the chance to mingle and eat a fine beef dinner before the awards were presented. “We have a lot of things to celebrate this year, but I think one of the most precious things we have is our friends and neighbors,” said Hill County Farm Service Agency Office Executive Director Mike Zook, the master of ceremonies at the event. Tom Welch of the Northern Agricultural Research Center south of Havre, who presented the awards, showed how the recipients typified that lifestyle. Lon and Stacey Waid have a family - focused ranching operation, raising their five children on the Waid ranch, which was established in 1997. Their honor, the Outstanding Agricultural Leader Award, is presented to people actively involved in agricultural production who have demonstrated a record of leadership in the agricultural industry in north-central Montana. The couple, married for 21 years, are the fourth generation of Waids to work on the ranch. The entire family, including their children, Lynsey, Lane, Lacey, Loni and Loy, have a lifetime of activity in 4-H. Lon is and has been active in business and cooperative associations, and Stacey is also active in the community. Turner, a 37-year veteran of county government, was presented with the Outstanding Agricultural Advocate, an award given to honor a person Involved in or retired from business or education or government who has a demonstrated record of advocacy for the agriculture industry in north-central Montana. Turner and his wife, Aaron, have two children, Aricka and Paul, and have worked on the family farm for 31 years as well as performing their other jobs. Terry Turner started with the county in 1981, working in the Hill County Weed District. He took over as supervisor in 1986. And started as the Havre Mosquito District Supervisor in 2003. He is active with state-level associations and holds many workshops and training sessions in the area, as well as holding activities with local students.
