Posted on August 21, 2018 at 3:58 PM by Global Reach
The time and effort Clyde Johnson of West Bend has committed to improving and supporting 4-H and FFA in Palo Alto County is truly astonishing. 4-H and FFA have been a lifelong commitment for him. Clyde was a 4-Her while growing up in the Buffalo Center area and served on the State 4-H Council in 1976-77. Clyde went on to graduate from Iowa State University with a Master of Science degree in Agriculture Teacher Education. 
Clyde became the FFA Advisor for West Bend-Mallard School in July of 1991 and filled that position for 17 years. He later filled the FFA Advisor position in the Laurens-Marathon School from July of 2008 until he retired in June of 2015. Clyde served as a leader of the Fern Valley 4-Hers 4-H Club in West Bend for 8 years. Clyde has been on the Palo Alto County Fair Board for 14 years, the first two years as the FFA Advisor to the board. He is currently serving as the vice president. As an FFA advisor, he was instrumental in coordinating to keep 4-H and FFA a cohesive pair in Palo Alto County, allowing both entities to benefit from his knowledge and expertise.
Clyde has been instrumental in maintaining the fairgrounds appearance by becoming the unofficial “tree superintendent”. He cares for the trees on the grounds and coordinates for the trimming and removal of existing trees. In 2017, he was in charge of planting 23 trees and making sure all have signage listing species and donor. He serves as sheep/meat goat superintendent for the fair, a position that requires putting together the sheep and meat goat show programs, helping with weigh-ins, answering questions on fair rules, overseeing the barns during the fair, and finding a market for the animals that come to the fair. He has held this position for the last 3 years. For over 20 years, Clyde has been instrumental in running the 4-H/FFA Livestock Judging Contest during the fair. Clyde also plays an invaluable part in the fair auction by putting together the auction program and adding all the buyers’ names and bids so all the spreadsheets can be printed and ready at the end of the auction.
In the fall of 2011, Clyde was presented with the Palo Alto County 4-H Alumni Award for his dedication to the 4-H program.
Clyde’s family includes his wife, Bridget, and three grown sons; Trent, Aaron, and Dustin.
Palo Alto County is proud and honored to have Clyde as their 2018 inductee to the Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame.
