Vegh honored by Farm-City group
By James Mulcahy
Participation in the Farm-City Banquet was dwindling around the years 2000 and 2001, and the Shelbyville Kiwanis Club was almost ready to end the long run of its local event. In 2000, the Rotary Club stepped away from co-sponsoring the event and a young Kiwanian, Rob Rothenburger, kept it alive.
A year later, Rothenburger, now Shelby County judge-executive, handed over the reins to new Kiwanian Ferenc Vegh.
“I opened my big mouth, and they said that if I felt so strongly about it, why don’t I run it?”
Vegh, of Shelby County, has since been in charge of the dinner, and participation has grown by leaps and bounds.
For helping save the world’s oldest Farm-City Banquet, the Farm-City Council honored Vegh last week with another first — the Dr. Charles Eastin Award. Eastin, who died in January, was a former Farm-City Council president and volunteer. The award, given at the Farm-City Council Convention in Lexington, recognizes a Farm-City volunteer.
“I’m honored to be recognized by those folks,” Vegh said.
In 1954, the local club held the first ever Farm-City Banquet at Science Hill Inn to create a link between farmers and city folk. Twenty-two people showed up for that dinner; the total bill was $19 and some change.
This year, nearly 400 are expected for the event, scheduled for Tuesday night at Claudia Sanders.
In 1955, Kiwanis International picked up on the idea, and the banquet is now a service project for many Kiwanis clubs around the world.
Locally and across the nation, the event is co-sponsored by the Farm Bureau Federation. Vegh is a Kentucky Farm Bureau agent.
In the photo: Ferenc Vegh, right, was given the Charles Eastin Award by his son, Dr. Charles Eastin Jr., left, and Al Pell, president of the Farm-City Council.
Participation in the Farm-City Banquet was dwindling around the years 2000 and 2001, and the Shelbyville Kiwanis Club was almost ready to end the long run of its local event. In 2000, the Rotary Club stepped away from co-sponsoring the event and a young Kiwanian, Rob Rothenburger, kept it alive.
A year later, Rothenburger, now Shelby County judge-executive, handed over the reins to new Kiwanian Ferenc Vegh.
“I opened my big mouth, and they said that if I felt so strongly about it, why don’t I run it?”
Vegh, of Shelby County, has since been in charge of the dinner, and participation has grown by leaps and bounds.
For helping save the world’s oldest Farm-City Banquet, the Farm-City Council honored Vegh last week with another first — the Dr. Charles Eastin Award. Eastin, who died in January, was a former Farm-City Council president and volunteer. The award, given at the Farm-City Council Convention in Lexington, recognizes a Farm-City volunteer.
“I’m honored to be recognized by those folks,” Vegh said.
In 1954, the local club held the first ever Farm-City Banquet at Science Hill Inn to create a link between farmers and city folk. Twenty-two people showed up for that dinner; the total bill was $19 and some change.
This year, nearly 400 are expected for the event, scheduled for Tuesday night at Claudia Sanders.
In 1955, Kiwanis International picked up on the idea, and the banquet is now a service project for many Kiwanis clubs around the world.
Locally and across the nation, the event is co-sponsored by the Farm Bureau Federation. Vegh is a Kentucky Farm Bureau agent.
In the photo: Ferenc Vegh, right, was given the Charles Eastin Award by his son, Dr. Charles Eastin Jr., left, and Al Pell, president of the Farm-City Council.