Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
John Bollingberg (seated) was recognized by North Dakota Farm Bureau on Sept. 30. Surrounding him are his four children – Kurt, Ann Marie, Eric and Kristen, and holding his commemorative plaque is Jeff Pepple, Nodak Insurance Company agent for Wells County.
Monday, Sept. 30 was John Bollingberg's 91st birthday, and it was also the day his 50-plus years of service to the North Dakota Farm Bureau was officially celebrated.
Several family, friends and senior members of the N.D. Farm Bureau (NDFB) were in attendance at the Heritage House in New Rockford to mark the occasion – the culmination of a lifelong dedication to farming and rural North Dakota.
Jeff Missling, CEO and Executive Vice President of the NDFB, was there to present Bollingberg with a plaque and to thank him for his many years of dedicated service.
"To have leaders like John in your state and in your industry just makes my life as an association leader that much easier," said Missling. "He's somebody who's been visionary, level headed, steady, and that type of leadership is pretty rare.
"That's why I came up here today," he added. "It means so much when you can work with individuals like that."
Over the past 50 years, Bollingberg has served in multiple roles within the NDFB and its affiliate, the Nodak Insurance Company. And Missling said he provided exceptional leadership and vision for both entities throughout his decades of service.
Just to name a few of his many roles, Bollingberg served as the Wells County Farm Bureau Director from 1967-68, 1973-74, 1979-81, 1991, and from 1997 until as recently as 2022.
He also served as the Wells County Farm Bureau President from 1975-76, in 1978, and from 1992-1996. From 1982-1989 he also served on the North Dakota Farm Bureau State Board of Directors.
When asked about his time with the Farm Bureau and why he became so involved with the organization, Bollingberg said he's always agreed with their philosophy, and that he always strived to help the NDFB and farmers in North Dakota adapt with the times.
"I believe that change is inevitable," he said, "and if you're going to succeed in life, you have to accept that and change or adapt as best you can, because change is going to happen either way."
Having grown up on a farm just east of Bremen, N.D. in rural Wells County, Bollingberg has always had an intimate knowledge of life on the farm and what it takes to be successful.
After graduating high school he studied ag engineering at the School of Agriculture at North Dakota State University, and later graduated in 1955.
He then returned to the farm full-time, grew his family, and eventually got involved with the Farm Bureau, just like his father before him.
"I always just wanted to be my dad's son, just like he wanted to be his dad's son," said Bollingberg.
And now, decades later, his many years of service and his exceptional life are being celebrated by those he's impacted.
Bollingberg said he has so many people to thank for helping him along the way, far too many to begin naming names – but he certainly acknowledged just how blessed he's been throughout his 91 years of life.
"I'm a spiritual man," he said, "and I just believe I've been blessed over and over and over."
