Salute to Ag Week 2021 took place March 22nd through March 26th. Typically, a breakfast and speaker event is held at The Barn at Hornbaker Gardens. Unfortunately, last year’s event was cancelled due to Covid but the new Executive Director of the Princeton Area Chamber of Commerce did not want the 6 year running Salute to Ag program to miss out on another year. Even though we still could not host the live event, our committee still thought it was important to continue as much of the initiative as possible.
For the last 6 years our committee has provided scholarship opportunities to high school seniors in Bureau County. Applications are sent to all Bureau County High Schools in hopes to help graduating high school senior(s) who have been accepted into an agriculture or agricultural-related curriculum at a university, college or community college. The applicants must be pursuing a degree in an agricultural related field. Criteria selection is based on a combination of academic achievement, community and agricultural youth organization involvement and the future goals of the applicant. Applications are judged by the Salute to Ag committee.
This year’s applications were due by March 1st and winners were announced on March 23rd, 2021 which was National Ag Day!
Scholarship Winners for 2021 include:
Carli Wright – Princeton High School
Shelby Hardy – Bureau Valley High School
Sean Fitzpatrick – Ohio High School
Scholarship Winner from 2020, Samantha Bohm – Bureau Valley High School, was also recognized due to the cancellation of all events in 2020.
Our Salute to Ag initiative would not continue to exist without our generous sponsors.
We have to give a huge thanks to:
Harvester Level Sponsorships:
Capital Agricultural Property Services
Clifton Larson Allen
Compeer Financial
Corteva Agriscience
Country Financial
Heartland Bank & Trust Company
Seed Sower Level Sponsorships:
Ag View FS
Bureau County Farm Bureau
Hefty Seed Company
Michlig Energy
North Central Bank
Prairie State Tractor
River Valley Cooperative
Cultivator Level Sponsorship:
First State Bank
Jill Frueh with the Bureau County Farm Bureau and Salute to Ag Committee member also tried to keep ag in the minds of the younger students by still holding the annual coloring contest. We had 3 winners in 3 different age groups! Those winners and their coloring page submissions can be found on our website. Thank you to all of those kiddos who participated and congratulations to Izzy (Age 5), Avery (Age 9) and Abby (Age 10). This was a Facebook voted event.
Winners and other Salute to Ag info can be found on our Princeton Area Chamber of Commerce website at www.princetonchamber-il.com
Congratulations to all of our Salute to Ag Scholarship recipients and best wishes in college!
Applications and event information for 2022 will be released early next year.
Please be on the lookout for the exciting schedule of events for this year’s Beef & Ag Days – June 18th & June 19th!!!
