Senator Gus and Senator Marsha Arzberger received the Arizona Farm Bureau Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award during the 87th Annual AZFB conference in Carefree, Arizona last Thursday during an awards ceremony celebrating farmers and ranchers throughout the state.

The Arzbergers have served a total of 27 years in the Arizona Legislature: Gus for 19 and Marsha for 8.

They are being recognized as individuals and as a family team, for their dedication to their district in Southeast Arizona and the agricultural and rural areas of the entire state.

Senator Gus Arzberger  was an agricultural activist in his local area before running for the Legislature. In 1984, he successfully ran for the State House of Representatives. It became clear immediately that agriculture, rural Arizona and Farm Bureau had a leader in the House Democratic Caucus. Gus successfully ran for the Senate in 1988 and an eleven year service began that saw him both as a member of the minority party and the majority party when the Democrats took the Senate in 1991-1992.

His interests were agriculture, natural resources and transportation. He served in leadership on those committees. He served on the powerful Appropriations Committee, using that position to help his district with Kartchner Caverns State Park, rural road issues and expansion of U of A into Sierra Vista. He worked tirelessly on property rights, side by side with Republican Governor Fife Symington and House Speaker Mark Killian. He protected water from being transferred from rural Arizona into the urban areas even though the legislature was dominated by urban representatives. His defense of rural Arizona stretched into water adjudication, the cost of federal mandates and funding for community colleges.

Senator Marsha Arzberger was elected to the Senate in 2000. She has been the Senate’s Minority Leader for the last two years, a post that is just one example of her leadership qualities.

She served on the Appropriations Committee as her party’s ranking member.

Marsha Arzberger  led the fight for a fair resolution of sales tax collections that had not been paid for off-road fuel use. Off-road industries, including agriculture, would have been paying millions in back taxes and penalties had she not championed this bill. She recognized the importance of adequate water supplies being protected in rural Arizona and passed legislation strengthening documentation requirements for development of new uses. She helped small water companies by creating a fund for them to access when emergency repairs are needed. And she kept rural water issues before her colleagues with her Rural Water Legislative Study Committee.

Arzberger took on an issue that Congress will not address---the immigration and worker visa issues that need resolution. Although unsuccessful because of it being an election year and deep divides that exist on this issue, Marsha’s temporary worker program for Arizona gathered national attention and several states patterned legislation after hers.

Arizona Farm Bureau’s Distinguished Service to Agriculture award recognizes individuals that have given long-time service and made many contributions to agriculture. Arizona Farm Bureau also presented this award to the late Senator Jake Flake family this year in honor of Senator Flake’s service to agriculture.