The Bradley T. Hofer Memorial Agriculture Scholarship was established in 2008 by Jim and Faye Hofer and family to provide scholarships for students from Franklin County High School who have been involved in the Agriculture program and plan to continue their education in agriculture.
Bradley Todd Hofer was born on Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1967 to James and Faye Hofer. He was in a fatal accident on Good Friday, April 17, 1987. He was the youngest of six children, leaving behind three brothers – Rick, Jeff and Tim, and two sisters – Diane and Beth.
He attended Brookville Elementary, Brookville Jr. High, Brookville High School and Connersville Vocational School. While in high school, he was on the Greyhound wrestling team his sophomore, junior and senior years and he was a 4-year member of FFA of which he was club secretary his junior year and chapter President his senior year.
He received the Star Green Hand Award in 1983 and the Star Chapter Farmer in 1986. He was on the FFA Soil Judging team that went to state contest two years and the FFA Crop Judging team that went to state contest one year. He also won the U.S. National Award in Agriculture by the United States Achievement Academy.
Brad, along with Keith Schwab, started the FFA Chapter fruit sale. The sale was to help with the chapter finances and is still a major fundraiser. He was a 10-year 4-H member and showed swine, beef, corn, soybeans and many more non-walking projects. He received the Farm Bureau 4-H tenure award.
Brad’s ambition in life was to be a farmer and to help people, especially his family. During the winter months, he helped many people clean the snow off their driveways. Many of the neighbors voiced their appreciation of this to Brad’s family.
The Bradley T. Hofer Memorial Award was started in 1987 to honor his memory and dedication to farming and agriculture. Recently, the Bradley T. Hofer Memorial Agriculture Scholarship Fund was established in the Franklin County Community Foundation by Brad’s parents and family. The fund will provide scholarships to students graduating from Franklin County High School who have been involved with the Agriculture Department and are planning to continue studying in an Agriculture related field.