The group arranged the visit to announce that Duane is the Hub Club’s 2024 Service to Agriculture Award winner. He will be honored at the club’s January 22 banquet at the Courtland Community Center.

The Service to Agriculture Award recognizes a person who goes above and beyond to serve the club and agriculture in general.

Duane and his wife Toni have been members of the Hub Club since 1986 when they moved to New Ulm.

“We joined with the strong encouragement of New Ulm veterinarian Gary Neubauer,” Duane recalled.

Photo courtesy of Ruth Klossner Duane Laffrenzen, third from right, was surprised when Hub Club members came to his home to tell him that he’ll receive the club’s Service to Agriculture Award. Making the announcement were former award recipients, from left: Joe Maidl, Don Sanderson, Michele Schroeder, Randy Schroeder, Linda and Pete Neigebauer, and Ruth Klossner (not pictured).

It didn’t take Duane long to take a major role in club activities, serving as club treasurer from 1991 to 1994. As he completed that term, Laffrenzen became involved with the club’s agricultural scholarship program–and continues to head that committee to this day.

During those 29 years, the Hub Club has awarded scholarships to 136 students, for a total of $84,300. Working with Laffrenzen on the committee the last number of years have been Ann Wendinger, Justin Gode, and Bill Swan.

In those years, the dollar amount of the awards increased from $250 to $1,000–but the number of applicants has decreased in recent years, something that puzzles committee members.

“It seems it’s a culture change. We don’t have an answer. It’s not difficult to qualify and we award scholarships for any post-secondary education, including technical,” Laffrenzen said. “About 80 percent of our applicants and recipients are now going into non-production areas of agriculture. Those roles are needed to support the production side of agriculture.”

Duane noted that the short essay part of the applications have been submitted “across the board in terms of presentation.”

He explained, “It’s of significant value when I can tell that the essays are truly written by the scholarship applicants. They don’t have to be typed. I can live with hand-written when I know they’re from the heart.”

When the March 1998 tornado devastated the area, Duane helped organize the Hub Club’s effort to clean up area farms that suffered heavy damage from the storm. As branch manager for Farm Credit in New Ulm, he undoubtedly knew many of the farmers hit hard by the tornado.

Laffrenzen has been involved in a variety of club activities over the years. He’s helped at some pancake breakfasts and he and Toni have attended almost all the club’s annual meetings. He even remembers that Ivan Finstad was the Service to Agriculture recipient when they attended their first meeting in January 1987.

The Laffrenzens have seen a lot of hard working individuals receive the award. Finstad was the club’s ninth recipient–now Laffrenzen will be the 46th.

Outside of the Hub Club, Duane is involved in a number of community organizations. He’s been a Narren since about 1988 –and jokes that he’s “the good looking one.” He was a

Cub Scout master and assistant master for many years–with both of his sons becoming Eagle Scouts. Duane is now vice president of the council at Redeemer Lutheran Church.

Laffrenzen grew up on a small dairy farm near Worthington. His dad was a tenant farmer and Duane lived on four different farms by the time he was 18. Luckily, all were in the same school district, but each required changes in neighbors, bus routes, and more.

“With that background, I want to help people have a stable base,” Duane said of a principle that’s guided his lifetime work in ag lending.

After graduating from Worthington High School in 1976, Laffrenzen attended Worthington Community College for nearly three years, but stayed home a quarter to help run the farm when his dad was injured. He transferred to the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, in March 1979 and joined Farmhouse Fraternity. He met Toni Sampson of Windom that spring, then graduated from the U with a degree in ag business administration in spring 1980.

From July of that year until August 1999, the Laffrenzens were on the move–three-and-a-half years with Production Credit Association of Faribault in the Le Center office; then almost 16 years with Federal Land Bank/Farm Credit Services in Windom, Mankato, and New Ulm.

He joined Citizens Bank, Minnesota as branch manager of the LaSalle office in August 1999 and is now vice president and ag, commercial, and consumer lender. He continues to work with a wide range of farmers–corn, soybean, hogs, dairy, and some beef.

“I like it at LaSalle. We have good clients and the bank treats me well,” he said. “The interesting thing I found about the lending business is it’s a people business, rather than a numbers business,” he said.

The Laffrenzens made four moves in six years, landing in New Ulm in 1986.

Duane recalls that as they came into New Ulm on Highway 68, by the Starlight Theater, to look for housing, Toni said, “This looks like a nice town. If you move again, you’re doing it as a bachelor!”

Duane and Toni have two sons–Gregory, a technical writer for Boston Scientific, who lives in Crystal; and David, a pharmacist at the Wabasha Hospital. David and his wife Emily have two children, Zachary, seven; and Lily, two.

Although Duane is not looking to retire–that’s a “three to five-year moving target”–he won’t be at a loss for something to do when he does. His hobbies include fishing and hunting deer, pheasants, rabbits, and squirrels. He loves to fish and the couple has a lake place near Brainerd.

For more than a decade, Duane has dabbled in home wine making. Not only does he give wine as gifts for weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries, but he enters wine at the Minnesota State Fair–winning the sweepstakes for amateur wine making in 2017. He earned six first place ribbons on 19 entries that year.

Duane also does custom framing and computerized mat cutting as a home-based business known as Hollywood Haus Framing– hence Schroeder’s appointment. Laffrenzen has several hundred frame samples on hand and also does repair jobs. That side gig started in 1982 when Duane took a class and has moved with the Laffrenzens wherever they’ve lived since.

“New Ulm is a great community to live in. We didn’t find it hard to be a part of the community–we were accepted by the church, organizations, school system–and the Hub Club was a part of that.”

• • • • •

The Hub Club’s annual meeting and banquet January 22 will begin with a social hour at 6:30 p.m., with dinner at 7:00 p.m. A short business meeting and the program will follow. The event is open to all. Tickets will be available later in December.

Since its founding in 1974, the New Ulm Farm City Hub Club has continued to follow its original purpose, that of promoting agriculture and agri-business in the New Ulm area through

various activities, events, and promotions. Membership is open to all; annual membership (single or couple) is $25.00. For more information on membership, check the club’s Facebook page.

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