The Wisconsin Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have remained committed to our organization throughout their entire lives and have immensely impacted it in a positive manner.

The members of the Wisconsin FFA Hall of Fame are recognized by a plaque in their honor at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. The Hall of Fame Recognition plaque is made possible by the Wisconsin FFA Foundation. 

The following individuals were inducted into the Hall of Fame at the 93^rd Wisconsin FFA Convention:

Carlton Austin started his agriculture education as a student and FFA member at Iowa Grant High School where he was a member of a third place State Meat Judging Team. He went onto UW-Platteville to receive his degree in agriculture education and taught four years at Melrose Mindoro and moved to Fennimore where he was the agricultural instructor and FFA advisor for 24 years. At Fennimore, he established an FFA Alumni Chapter and had students achieve excellence at the national level in proficiency, regional star farmer, computers in agriculture, and judging teams for livestock, meats, and soils. Mr. Austin chose his career to stay close to agriculture and he instilled that within each student he taught.  

Ken and Victoria Harter are the first couple to be inducted into the Wisconsin FFA Hall of Fame. This is appropriate as they were also the first husband and wife agriculture teaching team in Wisconsin at Green Bay Preble. Victoria passed away in 2015 and was a pioneer being just the second female agriculture teacher in Wisconsin. Her tenure included teaching high school and technical college classes. (Mr. Harter served our country in the US Army with a tour in Vietnam, taught high school agriculture for 7 years and UW Extension for 22 years. Together they organized the Green Bay Preble and Oconto FFA Alumni Chapters. Both served the Wisconsin FFA Alumni Association as president, and supported the FFA Alumni for 47 years.  

Allan Herrman is retired after 28 years of service at Wisconsin Public Service as manager of Wholesale Services where his group was responsible for $200 million in annual sales of electricity to cooperatives and municipal utilities. He previously served as an International Trade Specialist and Director for the Bureau of Marketing of Economic Analysis at Wisconsin Department of Agriculture. In 2008, he was appointed to the Wisconsin Agricultural Education and Workforce Development Council which advocated for agricultural education, educational initiatives, and associated resources to improve the employment opportunities of the agriculture industry. Throughout his career in leadership roles and on advisory committees, Mr. Herrman has always kept his focus on agriculture and education. 

Jeffrey Hicken had a heart for service and passion for agriculture education that played out during his life that was cut short in 2021. He began his FFA career as a member of the Lomira FFA chapter and served as State FFA Sentinel in 1992-93. He received a degree in agricultural education from UW-River Falls and taught agriculture at Sauk Prairie High School from 1998 to 2006. In 2006, Mr. Hicken began his service at Wisconsin DPI. Mr. Hicken helped to implement and evaluate curriculum, supported agricultural education instructors across the state and nationally, and advised the Wisconsin FFA Officer Team – a responsibility which brought him great joy. His heart for service led him to participate in numerous coalitions, committees and boards and his zest for life led to him sharing many laughs with all. Today, Mr. Hicken’s legacy lives on through the many lives he touched as well as his family. 

Mark Zimmerman was an FFA member at Osseo-Fairchild and became a Wisconsin FFA Officer in 1985 serving as a vice president. His father inspired in him a love for agriculture while an FFA advisor, Extension agent and a dairy-industry leader fed his desire to work with youth. After completing a degree in agricultural education from UW-River Falls, Mr. Zimmerman has been the agricultural instructor and FFA advisor at Spencer High School for 33 years. Mr. Zimmerman’s high standard of excellence in all aspects of teaching has led Spencer FFA to be consistently ranked as a three-star chapter as well as a Model of Innovation and an NAAE Outstanding Program. During his career he has inspired many youth to build their SAEs, achieve awards, and become state FFA officers, with one of his most cherished moments was his daughter Cortney being elected as a National FFA Officer.

The Wisconsin Association is forever grateful to the service that these individuals provided our association.