Eight young women and men are this year’s recipients of the Gordon Richards, Sr. Achievement Award sponsored by the Clinic Pharmacy. Tim and Jamie Barrick are owners of the pharmacy.
This is the 79th year for the award that was originated in 1946 by the late Gordon Richards, Sr., and the late Otto Krause.
Gordon Richards, Jr., son of one of the founders of the award, briefly detailed how the award started.
He told the students and their parents it was Krausse who came to his dad “with an offer he couldn’t refuse. The first awards were presented in 1946 after World War II,” he added.
This year, only for the second time, the awards were handed out on Friday evening of the Pottawatomie County Junior Livestock Show.
The eight were also honored before the several hundred persons who gathered for the presentation of t h e Livestock Show awards and the Premium Auction.
This year’s honorees from this area include:
North Rock Creek: Stephen Wickerd
Stephen Wickerd is North Rock Creek FFA’s 2024 Richards Drug Award recipient. Stephen is a junior at North Rock Creek and has been an active FFA member for four years. He currently serves as the NRC FFA Chapter Secretary and maintains an active Swine SAE show project.
As an FFA member he has actively participated in multiple CDE events and leadership activities. Some examples of his involvement include livestock judging, cattle grading and quiz bowl. He was a member of the State Winning Cattle Grading team in 2023, and has also been first and respectively in the PCCA Beef Quiz Contest the past two years.
Stephen is a member of the Pottawatomie County Fall Free Fair Jr. Board and has attended leadership experiences like FFA Lead 360, Alumni Camp, State and National Convention, Farm Bureau Capitol Camp, and many others. His involvement serves as an excellent example for others to follow.
Dale: Poppy Robinson
Poppy is the daughter of Rod and Allis Robinson. Poppy is a junior at Dale High School. She is very active in FFA where she has served as sentinel, reporter, and this year president. In 4-H, she has served on the local level as reporter and president and on the county level as Member at Large. She is the treasurer of the Dale High Student Council.
Poppy is also a member of the National Honor Society and the Oklahoma Honor Society. She is also a member of the Pottawatomie County Junior Fair Board.
Her FFA project is Sheep Production. She has been showing for 9 years. Her showing career has grown to include her own flock of ewes.
This will be her fourth year to raise and show her own stock. She looks forward to March when lambing will begin. Poppy also started her own mobile dog grooming business.
In FFA, Poppy has enjoyed meeting members from around the state and showing at local, state, and national shows.
The Pottawatomie Free Fair and PCJLS both hold a special place for her as she gets to work with friends and community members.
Poppy plans on attending college and majoring in an agricultural or medical field.
McLoud: Gage Brown
Gage Brown is a senior at McLoud High School where he has attended school since Pre-K. He is the son of Mick and Kim Brown and has been involved with FFA since eighth grade. Gage is currently the McLoud FFA Chapter Parliamentarian.
He previously served as the McLoud FFA Chapter Secretary during the 2021-2022 school year and attended the National FFA convention both years.
This is Gage’s fifth year showing pigs. He enjoys helping younger classmates with their animals and has volunteered with the Special Olympics showmanship at the McLoud Local Show. He is going to be a State FFA Degree recipient in May and was awarded the Greenhand award.