Two-time Shasta County Supervisor Mary Rickert was named the 2026 Citizen of the Year for her decades of civic leadership and the historic impact she had on the Future Farmers of America program.
Rickert received the award at the 47th annual Greater Redding Chamber of Commerce Legends and Leaders celebration Friday, Feb. 27, at the sold-out Holiday Inn.
Presentation of the 2025 award is a joint partnership between the chamber and the Record Searchlight.
Past winners of the award selected Rickert.
Before presenting the award, Silas Lyons, former Record Searchlight editor and a USA TODAY Co. news executive, said Rickert’s community involvement is extensive, includes agriculture and the environment, education and youth, health and mental wellness, and civic and regional planning.
“She has been deeply involved in preserving and managing our natural resources. She has served on the California State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Cow Creek Watershed, and the Shasta Land Trust,” Lyons said.
Rickert’s honors also include the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, the Beef Cattle Improvement Association’s Commercial Cattleman of the Year, Soroptimist Woman of the Year, and American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers’ Professional Farm Manager of the Year.
Born and raised in Hanford, Rickert made agricultural history in high school, Lyons said, when her determination and drive led to girls finally being able to compete in FFA competitions.
“In 1968, she and six of her friends traveled to Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo) and stood in front of a panel of men. They made their case, and they won the vote. The next year she was named high individual in dairy cattle judging at the state finals. And shortly after, she became the first girl ever to show an animal at the California State Fair,” Lyons said.
Lyons pointed out that now nearly half of the 105,000 FFA members in 360 chapters in the United States are girls.
Rickert served two terms as a Shasta County supervisor, representing District 3 from 2017 through 2024.
Her tenure on the board included the COVID-19 pandemic, a contentious four years that often spilled over into supervisors meetings.
Lyons in his speech relayed comments from former Citizen of the Year winners David Kehoe and Judy Salter about those challenging times: “Her legislative perspective was to assist residents in a proactive and timely fashion. She manifested unparalleled and unwavering courage when confronted with overt hostility and threats. She never allowed herself to be intimidated in the discharge of her responsibilities. Her clear focus was to perform her duties in a knowledgeable, non-judgmental and helpful fashion.”
Also during last Friday’ s event, the Redding Chamber of Commerce honored:
David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly “Buzz on the Street” column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Mary Rickert, 2026 Citizen of the Year, had historic impact on FFA
Reporting by David Benda, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
