Four annual awards were presented at the 79th Annual Marion County Soil and Water Conservation District meeting on Thursday night at the fair exhibit building.
The Marion County Conservation Farm Family of the Year is the Gerald Hunter family. Hunter not only farms but was an agriculture teacher for 30 years.
“I started my career teaching vocational ag at Casey, then I moved to Carlyle and then Kaskaskia College. So conservation has always been very important. My father was a director years ago. My grandfather was one of the original signers as far as the Farm Bureau Charter. Soil conservation has always been important. I taught it for several years. My son has taught it.”
Hunter noted soil health is as important to economic sustainability as it is to ecological sustainability.
The Jake Davis ‘Friend of Conservation’ Award was presented to Tony Antonacci who retired in 2021 after working nearly 40 years in conservation.
“It was really the people who made it possible to do things. It was land owners, the district board, it was fellow employees, especially when I was a younger employee when the older and more seasoned employees who showed me what needed to be done and how to do it.”
Antonacci says the most significant change he saw during his career was the passage of the 1985 Farm Bill. The bill forever changed the trajectory of conservation programs in America as well as creating both new opportunities and challenges for conservation. During his early career, Antonacci assisted the Marion County Soil and Water Conservation District with the acquisition and development of the George P. Irwin Conservation Education Station.
Tony Antonacci receives the Jake Davis Friends of Conservation Award.
The Cooperator of the Year Award was presented to Stanley Morris who first purchased his farm in Romine Township in 1977 which is a mix of upland and Skillet Fork Bottoms.
The importance of soil and water conservation cannot be overemphasized. That is why our nation is so great because of our soil and water.”
Morris uses the local district for advice on soil and water management as well as the purchase of fish and trees.
Cooperator of the Year Stanley Morris with his family.
The Conservation Teacher of the Year is Odin High School Ag Teacher and FFA Sponsor Wyatt Capps.
“During the last five years, I’ve made a living by being a teacher. I’ve given my all to teaching one of the largest and most significant industries, agriculture. Teaching agriculture and being an FFA advisor is one of the most stressful careers but is also one of the most important and rewarding.”
The Odin FFA is a two-time National FFA Living to Serve Grant recipient and is a nationally ranked 3-Star FFA Chapter in October 2022. Capps also serves on the Marion County Ag Literacy Board.
Odin Agriculture Instructor and FFA Advisor receives the Agriculture Teacher of the Year award.
The South Central FFA was honored as the Marion County Land Use and Envirothon winners.
The 2023 Fifth Grade Poster Contest Winners were also honored. Adelyn King of Selmaville Grade was first, Ashley Canoy of Iuka Grade second, and Tinsley Larson of Odin Grade third.
