Inductees for the 2025 Hardin County Agriculture Hall of Fame have been selected by the Hall of Fame committee. The 2025 inductees will include Bert C. Frederick (posthumously), Gary Flinn, Gary Jackson, Gene McCluer, and Max Montgomery (posthumously). The awards banquet will take place on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 6:30 PM at St. John’s Evangelical Church, 211 East Carrol Street, Kenton. The purpose of the county Agriculture Hall of Fame is to recognize outstanding agricultural contributions by Hardin County people and to honor those who have brought distinction to themselves and the agricultural industry. The public is invited to honor these inductees and their families, and to recognize their many accomplishments. Tickets for the Hardin County Agriculture Hall of Fame Banquet must be purchased in advance by November 17. Tickets are $20 and can be reserved by calling the Ohio State University Extension office in Hardin County at 419-674-2297.

Ty Higgins will be this year’s keynote speaker. Ty grew up on his family's dairy farm in Licking County. He started his career as a farm broadcaster as he studied at The Ohio State University. After working over a decade in country radio in Columbus, he found his way back to agriculture as a journalist and communication specialist at the Ohio Farm Bureau and just began his role as General Manager for the Ohio Ag Net and Ohio's Country Journal in October. He is a proud spokesperson for Ohio agriculture and passionate advocate for farmers across the state.

Bert Frederick, born in Marion County, but a lifetime farmer in Goshen Township, was born in 1887 and lived until 1971. Mr. Frederick was one of 43 people who attended a meeting on December 29, 1939, to form an organization for the promotion of a Junior Fair in Hardin County for the year 1940 and possibly beyond. The Hardin County Agricultural Society (inactive since 1926) was reborn, and a Board of Directors was elected to get this done.

Mr. Frederick was elected as a director-at-large and served on that Board until 1953. He served as President of the Board from 1942 through 1953, during which the character of the Fair developed, and the design of the grounds and the construction of the buildings occurred.

Structures built from 1947 to 1953 were the livestock barns and the arena, the 4-H and machinery building, the merchants building, racehorse barns, the main gate ticket building, the care takers house, three toilets, the grandstand and the water fountain. The racetrack was also moved from near the street and rebuilt at the south edge of the grounds and roads were constructed. All in 6 years, the fairgrounds was developed with Bert as the on-site construction manager for most of that time. He was involved with decision making and coordination of construction crews. His wife, Alta, kept an accurate account of where the levy dollars and other money were spent. Supervising all of this was almost a full-time task, but he continued to give leadership to the annual Hardin County Fair.

The Fair Board was named Honorary Citizens of Hardin County in 1947 for the excellent Fair facilities and Mr. Frederick's leadership was cited as critical to its success.

During this time, the building of Hardin Memorial Hospital was completed. Gov. Frank Lausche appointed Mr. Fredericks as one of 4 Trustees to complete construction of the building. Bert served as chairman of that Board of Trustees.

Mr. Frederick was President of the Hardin County Farm Bureau, representing them several times in Washington DC and served on the Board of the Veterans Memorial Clubhouse. The Fredericks were members of the Kenton First Methodist Church. Bert was a 32nd degree Mason and a member of Kenton Elks Lodge.

Gary Flinn began farming the family farm in 1978, raising cattle and sheep. Today it operates as Flinn Family Farm LLC, and Gary has served as the farm manager since 2011. In 2024, the farm was named a Century Farm by the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Additionally, Gary has also spent a considerable amount of time helping neighbors with their farm operations, primarily Burkhart and Layman Farms.

Gary spent most of his professional career as a tire technician, specializing in farm tire repair and maintenance, starting with R & C Tire in Kenton and continuing with the Wilson Tire Company. Gary worked in this capacity for over 25 years; retiring in 2015. Gary continues his work for Hardin County agriculture as a seasonable employee with the Hardin County Engineer's office, mowing ditches along Hardin County roadways.

Through his work with both R & C Tire and The Wilson Tire Company, Gary worked to keep Hardin County farmers in operation, especially during Spring planting and Fall harvest seasons, by repairing and maintaining all manner of tires on field equipment and implements. Gary also spent time working for the Farm Service Agency.

Additionally, Gary has served Hardin County agriculture, primarily the youth of Hardin County in several ways. Early in his career he worked as a substitute Vocational Agriculture Education teacher with the Kenton, Hardin Northern, Upper Scioto Valley, Ridgemont, and Riverdale school districts. He also served as a 4-H Advisor with the Lynn Valley Farmers 4-H Club for 26 years and volunteered his time at the Hardin County Fair with the Hardin County Sheep Improvement Association county fair kitchen, as a Day Captain with the Hardin County Cattle Producers Steak barn (almost 40 years) and announced the Hardin County Junior Fair Livestock sale for 33 years.

Early in his career, Gary worked as a 4-H Extension agent in Mercer County, Ohio from 1975-1978, helping to organize and direct the 4-H programs of that county and their summer camp. Additionally, over the years Gary has judged agriculture still projects for 4-H youth in multiple counties including Darke, Auglaize, Shelby, Allen, Hancock, Delaware, Miami and Wyandot counties, among others. Gary also spent time organizing and managing youth events and demonstrations at the Ohio State Fair and Farm Science Review.

Gary Flinn is a hardworking champion of agriculture in Hardin County and beyond. Dedicated, fiercely loyal, a great sense of humor, and a willingness to always be ready to jump in and lend a hand, Gary has strived to support agriculture where needed and has left a lasting impact with those he has worked with. Whether toiling in the fields, supporting fellow farm operators, or teaching, mentoring, and advising the next generation of farm leaders, Gary has contributed a legacy of outstanding achievement and influence that continues to shape the lives of others.

During the critical spring planting and fall harvest seasons, timely repairs can make all the difference between a profit or loss for farmers. Recognizing the importance of uninterrupted operations, Gary Flinn has dedicated his entire career to supporting agriculture, both in Hardin County and beyond. Whether through volunteering his time serving on agriculture boards and organizations, planning, managing and advising youth and youth events, or out in the fields repairing tires on farm implements, ensuring farmers had reliable access to functional equipment and implements when they need them the most. Gary Flinn has spent a career in service to agriculture making sure those he has worked with had the tools needed to succeed.

Gary Jackson was raised on a small family farm near Ada, Ohio and has spent the bulk of his professional career as a farm broadcaster and agricultural advocate. His career included providing daily news and agriculture reports on WKTN Radio, Kenton; WRFD Radio, Columbus; WIMA & T102 Radio, Lima; The AgriBroadcasting Network (ABN), Columbus; and In Ohio Country Today TV & Radio, Wapakoneta.  He also served the farm and agribusiness communities of Hardin County and the State of Ohio as director of information and education for Producers Livestock Association, Columbus.

While at WKTN in Kenton, Gary provided local listeners with news from county farm agencies, organizations and events. His reports promoted and provided news from groups such as Farm Bureau, Extension, FFA, 4-H, and Soil and Water to name a few.  

He was an enthusiastic supporter of the Hardin County Fair, conducting numerous on-air interviews with fair officials and participants. Gary was “the source” for fair show and sales results. And he never failed to show the fun that could be found at the fair, with “Fair Views” including “first hand” reviews of nearly every food concession and stories produced while upside down in amusement rides!

Gary’s work at WKTN provided the farm community with valuable information and helped the non-farm listeners gain a better appreciation of the value of Hardin County agriculture. 

His efforts continued to serve Hardin County when Gary was offered the opportunity to move into roles with statewide exposure.

Gary’s success at WKTN provided him with the ability to share his skills at a statewide level on WRFD, ABN, IOCT and PLA.  For more than five decades, Gary has been a trusted voice providing daily reporting of livestock and grain markets, weather, state and national farm news and feature reports. His interview guests ranged from young 4-H members to top USDA officials. Listeners always learned something new when Gary was on the air.

He was frequently asked to serve on committees for beef, pork, poultry, dairy, corn and soybean commodity groups, general farm organizations, Extension, FFA, 4-H, and state government agencies. They relied on him for sound advice on their communications and public relations needs.

As with most journalists, Gary considered it important to not officially join farm organizations to maintain an unbiased approach to his reporting. He did, however, give freely of his time to help any organization that asked.

He has been a career-long member of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. He has also been inducted into the Farm Science Review Hall of Fame, Allen County Agricultural Hall of Fame, a recipient of the Ohio Farm Bureau Agricultural Communicator Award, Ohio Farmers Union Agricultural Communicator Award, and The Ohio State University CFAES Service Award.

Gary is a broadcasting legend. Throughout his radio and TV career, his reporting has been consistently accurate, fair, complete, and engaging. He is generous and when a favor is needed, Gary delivers.

Gary truly believes in the importance of American agriculture, and he’s devoted his career to serving that community.  For more than 50 years, when Gary opened his mic, he was a reliable source of valuable information aimed at helping farmers prosper. 

Equally important, Gary is an accomplished advocate for agriculture. Because of Gary, millions of Ohioans with little connection to food and farming have gained insight and appreciation for the families who work to feed the world.

Gene McCluer operated a family dairy farm near Harrod, with 50 cows and 50 heifers, and farmed 170 acres of crop ground 1972-1989. He currently operates 85 acres as a grain farm.

Gene worked as a relief rural mail carrier for the Harrod post office in 1988 and worked in sales and marketing at Cairo Elevator from 1988-1989. He also worked as OSU Agricultural Extension Agent in Allen and Hardin Counties in 1989, then primarily in Hardin County in Kenton, Ohio from 1990 until his retirement in 2013.

Gene participated in the Allen County Dairy Service Unit during their dairy production years and served as president and secretary over those years. He has been a part of the Allen County Chamber's Ag Committee since 2013. He also served on the Harrod Volunteer Fire Department for 25 years and was an EMT and helped organize the first Harrod Rescue Squad. Gene served on the advisory committee for Allen East FFA when they restarted their chapter.

Gene served as the OSU Extension Educator for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Hardin County, Ohio from 1989 to 2013, and assisted in pesticide applicator training in northwestern Ohio Counties many times. He wrote a bulletin for OSU Extension regarding the planning of dairy farm buildings for special needs animals. He also created a letter study course for natural and mechanical ventilation of livestock buildings for Ohio producers. Gene started and trained a Master Gardener group in Hardin County and was honored by the first class with my own Master Gardener pin. He received the Cattle Producers Service Award in 2006 from the Hardin County Cattle Producers Association and assisted Hardin County in developing the Hardin County Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2003.

Gene served Certified Crop Advisor with the American Society of Agronomy from 1994-2014. He was also a member of the Holstein-Friesian Association, Ohio Young Farmers Association and was the winner of the State Dairy Award in 1978 and Outstanding Young Farmer by the Lima Area Jaycees.

In high school, Gene was a member of Harrod FFA for 4 years, and received the State Farmer Degree as a junior, and the DeKalb Achievement Award his senior year. He has served on the United Rural Electric/Mid-Ohio Electric Cooperative board of trustees for over 35 years, serving in all the officer positions. He represented Mid-Ohio Electric Cooperative's board on the Ohio Rural Electric Board of Directors, the statewide organization for Ohio's Electric Cooperatives for ten years and served as secretary/treasurer, vice chairman, and chairman and chaired several committees during my tenure there. In 1978, Gene was honored with the Outstanding Dairyman Award by the Allen County Dairy Service Unit and received plaques for individual cow production awards for milk, butterfat and protein and lifetime production. He received the Ohio Sheep Industry's Distinguished Service Award in 2003 and received the 600 Club Superior Production Award from GOSA/Select Sires in 1979.

Gene was honored to share the first place Partnership Award from the National Advisory Council with the Keep Hardin County Beautiful Commission in 1996 for OSU Extension's educational work in community recycling.

From 1978 to present, he has been an active member of the Union Chapel Missionary Church, and has served as an adult Sunday School teacher, a deacon and an elder.

Max Montgomery was successful at farming over 600 acres in Hardin County. He was a member of various organizations promoting soil conservation and farming techniques/practices saving farmers time, money, and natural resources. His unique auger invention with nylon bristles provided soybean farmers with an efficient and effective way to plant seeds with less cracking/breaking. Working as a crop adjuster, Max was able to assist farmers in claim procedures providing economical relief when crop losses were based on weather, disease, pests, etc. He served as member/official in many local clubs, organizations, and boards to promote effective farming practices and encourage sustainable farming for the future.

As an accomplished and enterprising lifelong farmer, Max made contributions to farmers locally, nationally, and internationally. His invention, the Montgomery Bristle Auger, took two years (1978-80) to design, create, patent, and put into production for sale. As opposed to the metal ones on the market at the time, this auger featured nylon bristles which gently rolled the soybeans out causing much less breakage/cracking, contributing to lower farm production expenses. It was estimated that by using this type of auger, farmers saved up to $3 for a bushel on seed. Another feature was that this piece of machinery could be adapted to fit any type of auger equipment that a farmer may already have preventing additional costs.

Likewise, wheat, corn seed, and oats could be used as well as soybeans with this auger. Max received the patent (#4192418) in the United States on March 11, 1980, and in Canada (#1107226) on August 18, 1981. Max Montgomery also often communicated with local, state, and federal government officials on issues facing farmers and the agriculture industry.