Wausau television station WAOW (Channel 9) recently announced the latest recipient of its monthly Jefferson Award. Longtime businessman and community leader Richard Pavelski was chosen as October 2024’s winner. According to the news outlet, the Jefferson Award is a nationwide program that recognizes community volunteers who selflessly give their time to improve the lives of others. On the area level, WAOW has partnered with Sparhawk Trucking of Wisconsin Rapids for several years for this series of awards. Recipients are then eligible for further recognition at higher levels annually.

Pavelski, a fourth-generation farmer, who grew up on a 200-acre dairy farm near Amherst Junction, went on to develop a chemical supply and fertilizer supply business and expand his family farm into one of the largest potato-growing operations in the state.

Requests from area educators and community groups for tours of the large operation led to the development of Pavelski’s latest venture, the $42 million non-profit Food + Farm Exploration Center in Plover.

Pavelski said that the idea behind Food + Farm was to provide a safe educational environment for tours in an offsite mini farm.

During an interview on WAOW, he said, “Education is at the heart of what we do. People don’t understand what happens on a farm. There is a lot of math and science.”

The Center features simulators, games, and many interactive exhibits. In that same WAOW interview, Food + Farm Interim Executive Director Dr. Phyllis King said that the Center “shows you where the food comes from and the nutritional value. And also, the conservancy and sustainability of it, and it’s all here in one place.”

Creating an educational destination to connect the production of food and those who grow it with all who consume it helps fulfill Pavelski’s mission. “The ability to give back is important,” he concluded on WAOW.

Richard Pavelski and his Jefferson Award. Photo courtesy of WAOW-TV.