CHAMBER ANNOUNCES BILLY McKINNEY AS THE 2008 SENIOR FARMER OF THE YEAR

The Madera District Chamber of Commerce has announced the selection of Billy McKinney as the 2008 Senior Farmer of the Year. A Madera resident and grower for 62 years, McKinney has approximately 1,700 head of cattle and once grew up to 10,000 acres of grain. He is active in the cattle industry and is a past president of the Breakfast Lions Club.

He and his wife, the former Lillian Fracchia, have been married for 52 years. He is a life member of both the Elk's Lodge and Veteran's of Foreign War Post 1981. A feature story on McKinney will be published in the Madera Tribune Salute to Agriculture section to be published on July 23. For advertising rates in this special section call the Tribune at (559) 674-2424.

Pictured right, Billy McKinney and his best friend Sprite take a break from working cattle.  Sprite is a 2 1/2 year old border collie/McNabb.

MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW!!!  Mr. McKinney will be honored at the 2008 Senior Farmer of the Year Dinner and celebration on Thursday, July 24 at the Madera Municipal Golf Course, St. Andrews Ballroom located at 23200 Avenue 17 in Madera. The social hour will begin at 6:00 p.m. followed by dinner and presentations.  Reservations are required (no tickets will be available at the door), for more information about RESERVATIONS and SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES...

SPONSORSHIPS AND RESERVATIONS
RESERVATION FORM
SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES

Reservations for the dinner are $35.00 per person with open-seating; sponsorships are available and include a reserved table for ten (Option #2 only).  Dinner will include Rib Eye Steak, Baked Potato, Vegetable, Salad, Roll & Butter, Dessert and No Host Bar; Vegetarian meals are available by request.  Reservations are required; no tickets will be sold at the door. Sponsorships and dinner reservations are available at the Madera Chamber of Commerce office located at 120 North E Street in Madera or you may call the Chamber office at (559) 673-3563 to pay by credit card.  

Net revenue derived from this event benefit the Madera Chamber of Commerce Madera South High School Ag Scholarship fund.  Your support not only honors our Senior Farmer and Past Recipients, but also supports the Ag Scholarship program for our youth who are our future Farmers.

Congratulations to the Madera Chamber of Commerce 2007-08 MHS Ag Scholarship Recipients - Mike Petrucci and Heidi Richardson

Family, friends and associates are invited to participate in the program honoring Mr. McKinney. If you are interested or need additional information, please call Debi Bray at the Chamber Office (559) 673-3563 or email dbray@maderachamber.com 

Thank you to Tami Jo Nix, Madera Tribune for her photo and contributions to this article.

About this Annual Event...
Since 1981 the Madera District Chamber of Commerce has annually honored outstanding individuals for their leadership, service, and contributions to Madera County Agriculture. The Senior Farmer of the Year Award recognizes, with great appreciation, the lifetime of an exceptional individual in the discipline of agriculture. Individuals are nominated and awarded points in 8 topic areas and must be 65 years or older. Nominations are reviewed by past honorees who also determine the final selection. These previous honorees, along with our 2007 recipient, have made huge and significant contributions to Madera County and recognizing them is just never quite enough for all they have done.

“Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted”. The truth in this quote by author David Bly, certainly exemplifies the past recipients. Their years of hard work have brought success and continue to provide a prosperous economic base for Madera County. The Chamber looks forward to celebrating a new Senior Farmer of the Year; the following is the impressive list of past honorees:

• 1981 - Sherman Thomas
• 1982 - Henry Bitter
• 1983 - Gino Petrucci
• 1984 - Walter Rosskopf
• 1985 - A.K. Baker
• 1986 - Everett Garner
• 1987 - Floyd Nelson
• 1988 - Lionel Rogers
• 1989 - Ben Coulthard
• 1990 - J.E. McKinney
• 1991 - George Andrew
• 1992 - John Sordi
• 1993 - Ed Sagouspe
• 1993 - Honorary Senior Farmer Franklin Secara
• 1994 - Elsie Buchenau
• 1995 - Norman Dill
• 1996 - Henry Massaro
• 1997 - Joe Galleano
• 1998 - Robert T. Houlding, Sr.
• 1999 - Dino Petrucci
• 2000 - Elvin Davis
• 2001 - Alfred Russell
• 2002 - Oliver Espinola
• 2003 - Will Gill, Jr.
• 2004 - Jack Schnoor
• 2005 - Richard B. Johnson
• 2006 - Charles Faso
• 2007 - Vernon Martinazzi
• 2008 - Billy McKinney

A special Thank You to the sponsors of the 2007 Senior Farmer of the Year event...
Foster & Parker Insurance Agency, Fresno Madera Farm Credit, Midland Tractor Company, Mrs. Franklin 'Elaine' Secara, and Deniz Packing/Stellar Distributing