Frank Hernández, a 57-year-old father of five and grandfather to three, woke up the morning of April 2 ready to continue a career he began while in high school maintaining equipment, overseeing the harvest hulling crew, welding platforms for new shelling equipment and installing irrigation for new orchards at Vermeulen Almond Hulling just west of Modesto.
“He’s kind of the soul behind all of us,” said owner Paul Vermuelen.
Hernández pocketed $3,000 as the Stanislaus County Farmworker of the Year , an award started by the Modesto Rotary Club, AgSafe and the Stanislaus Farm Bureau during COVID to “thank and acknowledge farm workers in Stanislaus County who continue to show up and work every day to bring food to our tables.”
Opinion
Stanislaus County isn’t alone in putting the spotlight on farm laborers. The Fresno County Farm Bureau, in partnership with the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, launched its Ag Employee of the Year award five years ago. It holds its award ceremony in late October or early November…