Tigges Farm co-owner Kathy Rickart honored
Kathy Rickart, longtime Weld County resident and co-owner of Tigges Farm Produce and Pumpkin Patch, has been honored for her work in helping connect kids to agriculture through local 4-H programs.
Rickart traveled to the Kellogg Conference Hotel on Oct. 12 at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., where she was inducted as a member of the 4-H Hall of Fame Class of 2021. The 4-H program is the nation’s largest youth development organization, serving more than 6 million young people across the U.S. The program teaches youths leadership, citizenship, communication and life skills.
Rickart’s list of career achievements and volunteer work is extensive and includes serving at Weld County Fair Agriculture Division Superintendent, Weld County Fair 4-H Awards Chair, co-coordinated the Colorado Conservation Tillage Association Conference and was part of the church council for Bethel Lutheran Church.
“I was also humbled in 2008 when I received the Greeley Tribune Panoramic Unsung Hero Award,” Rickart wrote in an email to the Greeley Tribune. “In fact, the Unsung Hero Award is the only one I dug out of the award box the last time we moved and put up on my desk hutch. I have the rest in storage and maybe I will get time someday to dig the others back out. But for now, it is the Unsung Hero and this plaque for the National 4-H Hall of Fame that will be on the wall.”
While volunteering, Rickart continued to work alongside her two siblings at their family farm, Tigges Farm Produce and Pumpkin Patch, growing and selling pumpkins, chilies and other produce along with carrying a variety of unique gift items. The farm also offers school children and 4-H clubs the opportunity to have fundraising activities and learn the ins and outs of how a farm operates.
“I spent 31 years leading kids in community service projects so I am ‘walking the talk,’ ” Rickart wrote. “I served on the Weld County Fair Board for six years. Then turned my focus to Tigges Farm in 2008 with the goal to make it a Weld County agri-tourism destination farm.”
When the pandemic put a halt to visitors to the farm, Rickart revved up her sewing machine to make 400 face masks and 18 PPE gowns that were distributed to grocery store workers, farm customers and a nursing home in Fort Morgan.
The National Association of Extension 4-H Agents along with the National 4-H Council and National 4-H Headquarters founded the National 4-H Hall of Fame in 2002 as a way to recognize volunteers, financial supports, staffers and pioneers who have made an impact at the local, state and national level. Inductees were chosen based on their contributions to the 4-H program as well as their citizenship, leadership, character and career accomplishments.
“These individuals have touched the lives of many people, from 4-H staff and colleagues to thousands of 4-H volunteers and members throughout the nation,” said Jeannette Rea Keywood, leader of the National 4-H Hall of Fame.