Indiana Farm Bureau honors Pelath for service

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Farm Bureau this week presented State Rep. Scott Pelath (D-Michigan City) with its “Servant Leadership Award” for his longtime commitment to Indiana’s agricultural community.

[Image at left shows (from left to right): Katrina Hall, Farm Bureau Director of Public Policy; Farm Bureau President Randy Kron; and Indiana State Representative Scott Pelath (D-Michigan City).]

In presenting the award, Farm Bureau Director of Public Policy Katrina Hall thanked Pelath for his many years of leading bipartisan teamwork in support of Indiana farmers. Farm Bureau President Randy Kron of Evansville and District Director Harold Parker of LaPorte County joined Pelath for the presentation at the organization’s statewide meeting in Indianapolis.

“I hail from industrial Northwest Indiana, but I have never forgotten that we have farmers here, too,” said Pelath. “Drive between Michigan City and Westville and Chesterton and Wanatah, and you will see the world’s food growing on either side of the road. Not only does it nourish us, but it is a foundation of our economic prosperity.”

Pelath, who recently announced that his tenth term in the Indiana House of Representatives would be his final one, advised his successors and others to approach farm issues with common sense and non-partisanship. The food supply and its role in the health of our state are too important to subject to the standard political disputes, he said.

“You do not have to agree with farmers every single time, and they never expect something so impossible. Few groups are more practical and optimistic,” said Pelath. “They do, however, expect you to listen, to understand their special calling in life, and to consider their essential part of the greater good. They have made public service a privilege.”

Pelath was first elected to the Indiana House in 1998, and served as House Minority Leader from 2012 to 2017. This November will mark Pelath’s completion of exactly 20 years representing large portions of LaPorte and Porter Counties.