Eugene Frank and Izzy Foster are pretty involved with tractors. That helped them get selected as Old Threshers Man and Woman of the Year award for 2024.

Frank and Foster earned their honors during a brief ceremony on Aug. 17 at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. They were part of a group of candidates that included Pat Korman, Ruben Foster, Scott Whalen and Cathy Johnson.

“It’s a new experience,” Frank said. “I haven’t done anything like this before. I’m surprised that I won. It’s a good cause to help the veterans.”

“I was surprised that I got nominated,” Foster said. “To be able to represent the Woman of the Year is even better.”

The Man and Woman of the Year awards, which started in 2019, are given to a man and woman who not only made contributions to the Old Threshers Show, but raised the most money out of all of the contestants.

Each of the six contestants had a collection jar for donations. The contestants combined to raise $1,970, which will go to the Central Missouri Honor Flight.

“You go around and get like other community member donations, so it feels good to be able to get the name out and stuff like that to some people who don’t know exactly what the donations are for,” Foster said.

The Old Threshers Show, which celebrates Montgomery County’s farming heritage, was held for four days from Aug. 15-18. Foster said the Old Threshers Show is an event that takes plenty of community involvement and volunteering.

“We like seeing the community come together to put on such a good show for everybody to come enjoy and see a lot of the old times,” Foster said.

Foster was picked for the Woman of the Year award due to her involvement with the tractor games at the Old Threshers Show. She also drives a tractor on the 40-mile tractor cruise.

Foster said she was happy to be part of a group of candidates that included her husband Ruben. They have been married since October 2022 and work on the family farm.

“We were kind of surprised that we got picked together, so it’s kind of neat to be able to get up there together,” Foster said.

Foster, whose maiden name is Falloon, graduated from Montgomery County High School in 2021. Two years ago, she earned an American FFA Degree award.

Frank, who has been a custodian for the Montgomery County R-II School District since 1983, has eight tractors at his home. He brought one of them to the Old Threshers Show. He has been driving tractors since he was a teenager.

Frank has been a member of the Old Threshers organization for many years. He said the Old Threshers Show is always an event he looks forward to going to every August.

“Every year, I enjoy Old Threshers and help whenever they need help with something,” Frank said.