Harms inducted into State FFA Hall of Fame

Maynard Harms, former teacher at New Prague High School and long-time member of the Scott County Fair Board, was inducted into the Minnesota FFA Hall of Fame Monday, May 5. Harms received the honor during a ceremony at Northrup Auditorium at the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus.

Harms was one of eight people to be inducted this year. They join 109 people who are inductees into the group since its creation in 2004.

Ted Kornder, a former student of Harms at Belle Plaine High School, and Bruce Mathiowetz, the school's current agriculture instructor, nominated Harms for the honor. He didn't know he had been nominated until he received a letter about two weeks before the induction ceremony notifying him about the event.

Those attending the May 5 event included his daughter, son and daughter-in-law.

Harms' teaching career spanned more than 30 years, teaching in Canton for more than a year before becoming the FFA instructor at Belle Plaine High School in 1955 where he taught until 1981. That same year he became the FFA instructor at New Prague High School and was here until 1986.

Harms was also involved with organizing the Scott County Fair for 25 years. Over that time, he served as the manager and the secretary for the fair board.

He also served the city of Belle Plaine as an elected official. He was on the city council for two years and, beginning in 2000, Harms was mayor for four years.