American Agriculturist Logo

Dick Newpher was recognized at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 100th Annual Convention.

January 23, 2019

2 Min Read
Dick Newpher received the Founders Award at this year’s AFBF Convention from Zippy Duvall and Rick Ebert
FOUNDERS AWARD: Dick Newpher (center), former administrative secretary for Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and former executive vice president of American Farm Bureau Federation, received the Founders Award at this year’s AFBF Convention from Rick Ebert (left), president of Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, and Zippy Duvall, president of AFBF.

Former Pennsylvania Farm Bureau employee Dick Newpher, who began his career as a field representative in Clearfield County and rose through the ranks to the role of administrative secretary-treasurer, received the prestigious Founders Award during the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 100th Annual Convention in New Orleans.

Newpher moved on from Pennsylvania Farm Bureau to AFBF, where he served for 12 years as executive director of public policy and retired as executive vice president.

The Founders Award was established in January 2017 to recognize exemplary leadership, service or contributions to Farm Bureau by officers or employees of AFBF and state Farm Bureaus.

“I saw the ad that said the Pennsylvania Farmers Association (renamed the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau in 1993) wanted a field representative. It fit perfect. I applied for the job, I got the job,” Newpher says. “Nothing bigger or better has ever happened in my life, except maybe my marriage, that created and controlled my life like the American Farm Bureau did.”

Newpher directed many changes at AFBF, overseeing the consolidation of offices in Chicago and Washington, D.C., to a single office in the capital.

“Dick always had our farmer members in the back of his mind when he considered what the organization needed to do. This focus helped Farm Bureau reach its goals and he built on those accomplishments and took what he learned from Pennsylvania when he moved to AFBF,” says Rick Ebert, president of Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.  

In 2011, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau established an endowed scholarship in Newpher’s name at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine.

Pennsylvania Farm Bureau nominated Newpher for the Founders Award. He was selected as the award’s recipient by a national committee.

Source: Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.

Subscribe to receive top agriculture news
Be informed daily with these free e-newsletters

You May Also Like