Pace hectic for former exec
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| Co-workers at the Indiana
Farm Bureau gave Harry Pearson this 1950 Oliver tractor as a retirement
gift when he stepped down as president in 2001. Photo
by Tom Campbell
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By Beth Forbes
It's not the kind of retirement built in your dreams, but Vance York,
BS '52, is doing what he likes best.
There are no leisurely afternoons of shuffleboard, no sandy beaches
to stroll down, and few lazy days in the sun.
For York, retirement has been a continuous round of meetings and projects,
with little time in between.
In fact, it's often easier to schedule an interview with a professor
on campus than it was to find a time when York wasn't busy so we could
do the interview for this story.
"We can talk Friday morning before my 4-H Foundation meeting,
or we'll have to wait until later next week," York replied when
I called to set up a meeting. And I couldn't hem and haw, because he
was already half way out the door on his way to another appointment.
Thankfully, that time fit both our schedules.
It's not that York is an adrenaline junkie, far from it. He says it
actually doesn't take much to keep him busy. "I can spend a couple
hours reading the paper or answering e-mail," he says.
So what's with the constant pace this so-called retired man maintains?
"I guess I've always been a busy person. But what I like is doing
things of value," York says. "I try to do something that will
help someone. I feel it's important to society to help others along
the way."
York most enjoys helping young people. "They are our future. Helping
them is good for America," he says.
On the Friday of his interview for this story, York spent his afternoon
with the
4-H Foundation, where he's on the board. Then later, he drove to the
Purdue campus from his Zionsville, Ind., home to meet with Dean of Agriculture
Vic Lechtenberg and other ag school supporters. The evening was topped
off with dinner and the Purdue Musical Organizations Christmas Show.
"This is why we still brave the Indiana winters," says York.
"We also enjoy Purdue football and basketball games."
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