TIMONIUM, MD – The Maryland State Fair & Agricultural Society, Inc. is pleased to announce that Board Member and Treasurer J. Robert “Bob” Tibbs was presented with the 2021 Maryland Farm Bureau Distinguished Service Award at the Bureau’s annual convention earlier this month in Cambridge, Maryland.
The Distinguished Service Award is the Maryland Farm Bureau’s highest honor, recognizing the unsung heroes who have dedicated their lives to making the Maryland Farm Bureau a better and stronger organization. Recipients are long-time members who have volunteered countless hours organizing Maryland Farm Bureau events and other behind-the-scenes tasks.
Mr. Tibbs, owner and operator of Shadow Springs Farm, has served on the Maryland State Fair & Agricultural Society Board since 2002 and as its treasurer since 2018. Mr. Tibbs has shown his Charolais cattle at the Maryland State Fair for more than 30 years and is a tireless advocate for agricultural education at the Maryland State Fair and for the farming community. Through the leasing program, Mr. Tibbs has given many non-farm youth the opportunity to show his Charolais cattle at local shows and at the state fair, as well as working with the North Harford High School to start an agricultural science magnet program where he donated a heifer to get its animal science program started.
Mr. Tibbs has been active on the national level, having served as President of the Colonial Charolais Association, and the American International Charolais Association, where he was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2016. In addition to his service to the Maryland State Fair, Harford County Farm Bureau, Eastern National Livestock Show, and the Charolais Association, Mr. Tibbs has also served as a volunteer for the Level Volunteer Fire Department and been an active member at Hopewell United Methodist Church.
Maryland State Fair & Agricultural Society President Donna Myers said “No one is more deserving than Bob of this award. He has volunteered countless hours for so many organizations, held many leadership roles, and through the generosity of he and his wife Judy, truly made a difference in the lives of many 4-H & FFA youth.”
–Edie M. Bernier, Maryland State Fair