This year’s Howie Award was presented to John Fricker. John has been involved in Farm Bureau for many years and has been the Riverside County Farm Bureau’s Water Advisor for the past fifteen years. John was raised in Hemet and belonged to the local 4-H Club and raised pigs as a major project. John graduated from Hemet High School and attended UC Davis majoring in Pomology (study and practice of fruit growing). John served two years as the president of the Little Lake Farm Bureau Center and grows oranges and grapefruit in Hemet. He was employed by Eastern Municipal Water District for 35 years in the Customer Service Department and for the last 15 years before his retirement as the director of Customer Service. John has been a board member on the Lake Hemet Municipal Water District Board of Directors for the past 10 years. In his spare time, John likes to play golf but says, "I’m not very good". Over the years, he has donated over 21 gallons of blood through the Riverside/San Bernardino Blood Bank. John has been married to his wife, Mary Lee, for over 51 years, has three sons and two grandchildren. Once again, John, thank you for all the hard work you have given to the Riverside County Farm Bureau over many years.