The PennAg Distinguished Service Award was established by the Board of Directors in 1996 to honor PennAg members and supporters of Pennsylvania’s animal agriculture and agribusinesses. Winners are selected annually by a particular member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of the agricultural industry.
At the Spring Banquet, our organization recognizes two patrons with a Distinguished Service Award each year. There is an Industry category for members and a Non-Industry category for supporters. For inquiries about the Distinguished Service Award, please get in touch with us at pennag@pennag.com
Below is a list of past distinguished service awards.
| Year | Industry Recipients | Non-Industry Recipients |
| 1996 | Jack Hess | Lou Moore, Penn State University |
| 1997 | Bill Robinson, Kreamer Feed | None |
| 1998 | Mel Wenger | None |
| 1999 | Don Parke | Dr. Robert Eckroade |
| 2000 | George H. Blankley | Former Senator Noah Wenger |
| 2001 | Donald Hershey | Dr. Robert Leach |
| 2002 | Al Wenger and John Zerbe | Anthony Dobrosky |
| 2003 | Darvin Boyd | Samuel E. Hayes Jr. |
| 2004 | George Williams | Senator Rodger Madigan |
| 2005 | Art McAlister of York Ag Products, Inc. | State Representative Art Hershey |
| 2006 | Paul Sauder of R.W. Sauder, Inc. | Dr. David Kradel |
| 2007 | Tom Zeigler | John Barley |
| 2008 | Walt Peechatka, PennAg | Dr. Herb Cole, Penn State University |
| 2009 | Glenn Esbenshade of Esbenshade Farms-Mills | Sam Sherk, PennAg |
| 2010 | Barry Shaw of Wenger Feeds | Attorney General Tom Corbett |
| 2011 | Bud Caton, Land O’Lakes-Purina Mills | Russell Redding, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture |
| 2012 | Scott Sechler, Farmer’s Pride/Bell and Evans | Doug Goodlander, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Agency |
| 2013 | Carroll Kirby of Kirby Agri, Inc. | Senator Michael Brubaker |
| 2014 | Mel Gehman, Heritage Poultry Management Services | Dr. Douglas Beegle, Penn State University |
| 2015 | Bill Brubaker, Pennsylvania Agronomic Products Council | Senator Elder Vogel, Jr. |
| 2016 | Jack Conrad, EMM Sales and Services | Dr. Sherrill Davison, University of Pennsylvania |
| 2017 | Larry Garber, Wenger Feeds | Dr. Michael Hulet, Penn State University |
| 2018 | Dr. Carl Brown, F.M. Brown’s Sons, Inc. | Aaron Groff, Jr., Ephrata National Bank |
| 2019 | John Martin, Longnecker’s Hatchery | Larry Weaver, Weaverland Farms |
| 2020 | Dean Collamer, Growmark FS, LLC. | Dr. Troy Ott, Penn State University |
| 2021 | Adrian Robinson, Chemgro | Deputy Greg Hostetter, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture |
| 2022 | Sam Beamesderfer, Gehman Feed Mill | Kerry Golden, Executive Director of House Ag Committee |
| 2023 | Bill Hostetter, Hostetter Grain Inc. | Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System Team at New Bolton, Harrisburg and Penn State |
| 2024 | David and Delvin Martin and the Team at Stevens Feed Mill | Senator Scott Martin |