Posted on August 22, 2024 at 5:00 PM by Emily Saveraid
Lori Heemstra moved to O’Brien County in 1989 when she married her husband, Dennis. Over the last thirty-five years, she has dedicated countless hours to the O’Brien County community. As the Heemstra family grew with the addition of their three children, Nathan, Jenna, and Jillian, so did Lori’s contributions to various activities in O’Brien County.
She served as the Ag In The Classroom coordinator and was also the first female elected as state chair of the Young Farmers Committee of Iowa Farm Bureau. When her kids were old enough to join 4-H, Lori was willing to help in whatever capacity needed. She devoted time as a co-leader of the Center Farmers 4-H club from 2015 to 2023. Lori has been involved in fair activities and has taken pictures of the 4-H members for the Farm Bureau booth for many years. In 2017, she took over as the O’Brien County Bill Riley Talent Search coordinator.
Lori is also a very active member of her church, Christ Community Church of Primghar. She helped start the Wednesday Church After School program, was the Vacation Bible School coordinator for several years for the churches of Primghar, and currently serves on her church’s mission committee, which has allowed her to go to Haiti, local mission trips, and soon to be Romania this August.
Outside of the fair and church, Lori also is very involved with the schools of O’Brien County. She has subbed for South O’Brien and HMS schools for over fifteen years. She also served on the music boosters board for South O’Brien as their treasurer and president, helping with the concession stand at home basketball games.
