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A humble,
husband-wife farming team from southwestern Decatur County have
gained state-wide recognition for their business that started
essentially as an accident.
Albert and Diane Armand own and operate Harper Valley Farms and
its famed pumpkin patch near Westport. Situated on 57-acres of
rolling hills and, in autumn, pumpkin-dotted fields, the farm
attracts visitors from a wide radius, especially in October.
On May 7, the couple was honored by Indiana Lt. Gov. Kathy Davis
as one of 31 men and women from across the state to receive a
2004 Lieutenant Governor’s Hoosier Hospitality Award.
“We were kind of humbled, kind of shocked,” said Diane Armand of
receiving the award in the Indiana Statehouse. “We just do
anything we normally would, anything people would expect us to.
I don’t think our (usual operations) are that extraordinary.”
The Indiana Department of Commerce’s Office of Tourism and Film
Development presents the awards annually to individuals who
provide exceptional service to guests of Indiana tourism
attractions or hospitality businesses.
Davis commended the hospitality recipients at the awards
ceremony as the state’s front-line travel ambassadors. She leads
the state’s tourism promotion efforts as director of the
Department of Commerce. Other recipients were culled from
hotels, parks, casinos and visitors’ bureaus from New Albany to
Valparaiso.
The Armand’s business was nominated through the
Greensburg/Decatur Chamber of Commerce. News of their winning
came as a complete surprise.
“We didn’t know anything about it, didn’t know it existed, but
we’re glad it does,” said Armand of the accolade. “It’s nice
that they recognize what different people do to show Hoosier
hospitality.”
The Armand’s cultivate and sell a wide range of meats, feeds and
produce, but it’s the pumpkins that draw the visitors in from as
far as Kentucky and New York City each autumn. Harper Valley
Farm is the biggest single pumpkin producer and is responsible
for half the commercially sold pumpkins in the county, according
to Purdue Extension Office statistics.
Albert Armand has been growing pumpkins for over 20 years, since
his days of high school, agriculture tinkering. It wasn’t until
10 years ago, though, that his business accidentally took off.
At the suggestion of a friend in 1994, the Armands stuck a sale
sign on a particularly good patch of pumpkins near the road. The
business sprouted immediately.
This farm takes its name from the former, four-house town of
Harper, an old railroad stop comprised mostly of livestock and
stoneyards.
Chamber of Commerce tourism director Melanie Maxwell said the
Armand’s hospitality isn’t limited to just the Hoosier state.
“If someone calls and needs directions (to the farm) from
Chicago, they tell them,” said Maxwell. “If someone calls and
inquires about how to start a pumpkin patch in the middle of
Cincinnati or Indianapolis, they’re there to help. I think
they’re the epitome of Hoosier hospitality.”
Purdue University extension educator Dan Wilson said the
Armand’s farm embodies the spirit of down-home, southeastern
Indiana without sacrificing an innovative edge.
“They have the hospitality that everybody enjoys and also a
creative entreprenuerialism that they bring to the forefront.
They’re down-to-earth innovators,” said Wilson.
Indiana’s tourism industry stimulates visitor spending and
economic growth by developing and promoting quality travel
experiences in Indiana, according to a press release issued by
the Lt. Gov.’s office. The most recent economic impact study
shows that the Indiana tourism industry supports more than
94,000 full-time jobs, generates more that $5.6 billion in
visitor spending annually and attracts more than 57 million
guests each year.
The Hoosier Hospitality award has solidified the Armands’
business as a significant part of those statistics. As for the
award itself, Diane said it will find a special, prominent place
on the farm.
“We haven’t really decided where to put it yet. It’s in an
acrylic frame right now,” she said. “But I’m sure it’ll find a
place of honor.”
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