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Jerry Hicks, AFM (right) accepts the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and
Rural Appraisers (ISPFMRA) Hall of Fame Award from President Bret Cude, AFM
(Bloomington, IL – March 2, 2012) – Jerry R. Hicks, AFM,
partner and treasurer of Agrivest, Inc., Springfield, IL, was inducted into the
Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers’ Hall of
Fame during the organization’s annual meeting held here recently.
“Jerry epitomizes all the good things that come to mind when
you think of the finest attributes of a member of the Society,” said Bret Cude,
AFM, immediate past-president of the organization, in presenting the award. “He
has been very active as a member in the organization and has served as its
president and on numerous committees during his years of membership. But more
importantly, he has taken that spirit of involvement and carried it into his
day-to-day life through his generosity of personal time and talent given to
organizations outside the Society, all for the betterment of agriculture in
Illinois.”
Hicks is a 1971 graduate of the University of Illinois with a
bachelor’s degree in agriculture, majoring in animal science. He followed up
that degree with a master’s in 1976 with advanced studies in agriculture
communications. He was a member of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership program
class of 1984.
Hicks started his career in agriculture as an assistant and
associate agricultural advisor with U of Il Extension Services in Dixon, IL.
From there he served as executive vice president of the Illinois Pork Producers
association. He left that position to go into farm management and was named
senior farm management officer with FFG Agrivest (successor to First National
Bank) in 1994. He assumed his current title when Agrivest became an independent
organization in 2000.
He has continued seeking professional improvement education
and received his Accredited Farm Manager designation from the American Society
of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers in 1986, and became an Illinois-licensed
Real Estate broker in 2000.
His ‘outside’ leadership activities have included 24 years as
a 4-H leader, chairman of the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension
Services State Extension Advisory Council, treasurer of the Illinois
Agricultural Legislative Event Committee, a member of the U of I College of
Agriculture Deans Advisory Committee, vice president of the Pleasant Plains
School board, and president of Extension Partners.
The Society has inducted members into its Hall of Fame since
1980, “and Jerry joins a long list of individuals who have shown outstanding
leadership within the organization and within the industry of agriculture in
Illinois,” Cude stated.
Meet
the owners of Agrivest, Inc.
Pictured seated
L-R: Dan Newton, AFM; Larry Weitekamp, AFM; Denise Poteet.
Pictured standing
L-R: Jerry Hicks, AFM; Bob Williamson, AFM; Keith Sheckler, AFM; Bob Nelson,
AFM.
Agrivest,
Inc. is an employee-owned company specializing in farm management, farm
real estate sales and acquisitions. Each professional manager has a farm
background, college degree and is an Accredited Farm Manager.* All
owners have worked together in excess of 20 years and are dedicated to
providing clients with sound guidance based on a commitment to high quality
service.
*The
American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers awards the title
of Accredited Farm Manager (AFM) to those members who have had years of
experience, are technically trained, have passed rigid examinations, and
subscribe to a high code of ethics. |