2006 Harvest Fair Announces
New Board Member & Award Recipients
Winemaker Steve Dutton Elected to Harvest Fair Board

Santa Rosa, Calif. June 21, 2006-Local wine maker Steve Dutton joins the Sonoma County Harvest Fair Board as its newest member.  Steve and his family have been farming in Sonoma County for five generations. By the time he was five years old, he had begun working in the vineyards with his father, Warren. He leapt into the family business full time in 1987, as his initial fascination with farming equipment developed into a keen passion for farming. These days, Steve is responsible for farming his family's original Chardonnay vineyard and over sixty additional plots of some of the finest and most coveted Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Zinfandel in the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast appellations.
 
In addition to his newly appointed position on the Harvest Fair board, Steve serves on the board of directors for the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, the Sebastopol Chamber of Commerce and the Santa Rosa Junior College Viticulture Advisory Committee and Agricultural Business Advisory Committee.
 
The Harvest Fair is pleased to honor the following individuals for their contributions to local agriculture
 
Jim King, Lifetime Contribution to Agriculture Award Recipient
The Harvest Fair is pleased to honor Jim King as the recipient of its 2006 Lifetime Contribution to Agriculture Award.  Jim King hasn't missed a Sonoma County Fair in 47 years or a Harvest Fair since its inception, acting as a guiding force for local agriculture and an inspiration for gardening groups. Jim has been ringside at countless Sonoma County Fair junior livestock auctions, overseen FFA projects in the livestock barns and created prize-winning garden exhibits in the Hall of Flowers during his long association with the Fair. He has also coached local FFA judging teams, many of which have won national honors, and has always been a strong voice for the county's agriculture industry.
 
Jim King is part of Sonoma County's backbone. He cares deeply about the fair, the farmers and ranchers and the deep-rooted agricultural industry. For more than half a century he has worked to keep agriculture alive and part of Sonoma County's rich heritage and culture.
 
Chris Bowland, Outstanding Young Person in Agriculture
The Harvest Fair is pleased to honor Chris Bowland as the recipient of its 2006 Outstanding Young Person in Agriculture Award.  Chris didn't always want to be in viticulture. Entering Cal Poly as a business major, it didn't take him long to realize that sitting behind a desk all day did not sound particularly appealing. Luckily for Sonoma County, Chris changed his major to agriculture business in his junior year and has been a strong force in local agriculture ever since.
 
Through his own vineyard management company, Bowland Vineyard Management, Chris focuses his attention on the Russian River and Bennett Valley areas, with nearly 20 clients and wineries and caring for more than 250 acres. Chris has his own 6 acre Zinfandel vineyard and serves as an adjunct professor of viticulture at Santa Rosa Junior College. Recently Chris helped raise over $1 million for the Santa Rosa Junior College Agriculture Pavilion at the Shone Farm.
 
 
Nick Frey, Friend of Agriculture
The Harvest Fair is pleased to honor Nick Frey as the recipient of its 2006 Friend of Agriculture Award.  Growing up as a 4-H kid on a farm in rural Madison County, Iowa, the last thing Nick Frey wanted to do was be a farmer. His roots caught up with him during his first quarter at college when he declared his major as agronomy and ultimately earned a PhD in plant physiology.
 
After seven years as the executive director of the Sonoma County Grape Growers Association, Nick is proud of all the association has accomplished under his leadership.  He is a passionate proponent of sustainable agriculture, member growth and employer education. He is committed to vineyard employee educational classes and housing and has helped to secure grant funding for lectures and classes in both Spanish and English. His current project is the creation of a Sonoma County Wine Grape Commission to market and promote our precious commodity.
 
Tom Rued, Outstanding Young Farmer 
The Harvest Fair is pleased to honor Tom Rued as the recipient of its 2006 Outstanding Young Farmer Award. Lifelong Sonoma County resident Tom Rued always knew he would be a farmer; after all, he has grape growing in his blood.  His family has been farming in Healdsburg since the 1880s, raising apples, pears, prunes, sheep and cows. Now, Tom lives and farms on his own 185 acres in Healdsburg, where he grows Chardonnay., Merlot, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet with the help of his brother Steve and sister-in-law Sonia.

Although they sell most of their grapes to wineries, Tom does make his own Zinfandel, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc (his proclaimed favorite). He is currently building his own winery, which he hopes to open this summer.  Tom also serves as president of the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley and is on the Healdsburg Fair Board of Directors.

Fair Contact: Sheila Quince
sheila@sonomacountyfair.com
(707) 545-4203