Stoners, Waltari win ag banquet awards

Jon Stoner likes farming so much that “it just doesn’t seem like work.”

If that’s the case, he has a lot of fun in his life.

Jon and his wife, Claire, were given the Outstanding Agriculture Leader Award Saturday night for their long commitment to service to the farming community and the overall Hill County community.

The couple stood shocked when the award was announced before a packed house at the Havre Ice Dome.

“We didn’t expect this,” Jon Stoner said as he was handed the plaque by Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson.

Peterson read off the couple's long list of community service projects.

Jerry Waltari was equally surprised when he was announced the winner of the Outstanding Agriculture Advocate Award, given to someone who has a “demonstrated record of advocacy for Montana’s agriculture industry in north-central Montana.”

Waltari is a retired partner with Hamilton Consulting Group, where he provided auditing, taxation and general business consulting services to many agricultural clients over the years.

The awards are handed out annually at the Ag Appreciation Dinner sponsored by the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce’s Agribusiness Committee. Traditionally the dinner was held on Festival Days weekend, but it was moved because the old date conflicted with harvest time.

Jon Stoner, a Plentywood native, and Claire, who grew up on a farm northwest of Chinook, have been married 19 years and have two children, Jon Reece and Rainey, who work on the family farm north of Havre where they raise wheat, peas and lentil.

Claire is also business manager of Rock Power and Outback Power, companies that provide power line construction services.

Between the two of them, they are active in Havre Youth Hockey, Lions Club, Bear Paw Ski Bowl, and all their childrens’ school and 4-H activities.

They are members of First Lutheran Church of Havre and Montana Actors’ Theatre.

They are active in a host of agricultural organizations, including the Hill County Soil Conservation Advisory Committee.

Since they believe that research is critical to the future of Montana agriculture, they are strong supporters of the Montana State University experimental stations.

A University of Montana grad and a Griz fan, Waltari is a past chair of the Board of Trustees for the Montana CPA Group Insurance Trust, and a former president and co-chair of the Economic Development committee of the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce.

Peterson said Waltari is “usually the first one to volunteer, the hardest worker and the last one to leave.”

He and his wife, Nancy, have been in Havre since 1970, and have two children, Casey and Scott.

He’s past-treasurer for the Montana 4-H Foundation, a past president of the United Way of Hill County and a board member at Havre Beneath the Streets.

He is a former president of Havre Optimist Club.