Class of 2015

Ross Clum operated a farm in Jackson Township for most of his life, but he is more well-known across the county for his 28 years as a Soil Conservation Technician with the USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS). It is believed that over his career he was on birtually every single farm in the county surveying land, designing conservation practices and working directly with farmers to install and maintain those practices. And he had the great pleasure of working with multiple generations of farmers on individual farms. Ross opened up his own farm over the years for tours of his conservation practices including woodland management.  And he was involved in training hundreds of Ohio’s Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) and SCS employees during his career – some of whom went on to be high level staff members in the state and national agencies. Mr. Clum was nominated by his son, Stan and this honor is being made posthumously.

Donald P. Klingler started his farming operation with 64 acres in partnership with his father and expanded over the years in Auglaize and Jackson Townships. He marvels at how he began with a two bottom plow and 35 hp tractor and now his operation is fully no-till. Don served as the Allen County Fair Manager from 1983-1995 and witnessed fair attendance grow over that time from 80,000 to over 225,000 attendees and operate with over a million dollar budget. He has been honored by the Allen County Agricultural Society’s Hall of Fame for his important contributions to the Allen County Fair. He also served 10 years as the Executive Director of the Ohio Fair Manager’s Association and was named to that organization’s Hall of Fame. Don served on the Chamber of Commerce’s first Agriculture Committee and has made presentations to school kids on local farmers’ role of providing the food they eat. Mr. Klingler was nominated by retired OSU Extension Agent, Gene McCluer.