MOUNT VERNON — It was agriculture day when the Mount Vernon Kiwanis Club met for a luncheon Monday at The Alcove. After the luncheon was called to order by Cindy Higgs, one main order of business was the presentation of the Luke Biggs Award. Doug McLarnan explained how the award is named in honor of Biggs who was internationally known as a humanitarian, businessman and farmer.
“He was a part of the original ‘green’ revolution. He went to India and provided great leadership in many agricultural programs,” said McLarnan.
The 2011 recipient of the Luke Biggs Award is Bob Dudgeon, a cattle producer and farmer of 260 acres from Berlin Township. “Bob has been involved in agriculture in our community for 43 years,” said McLarnan, telling how Dudgeon has been in the practice of rotational grazing, an innovation which has been used in Knox County for many years.
He is a 26-year township trustee, has participated in Ag Awareness Day presentations for fourth-grade students and is a sponsor of various 4-H awards.
“He is a great environmental steward and a leader in our community,” said McLarnan. “This award is in recognition of the quality of life we enjoy due to the work of a lot of our area farmers.”

