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Blair County Chamber Honors Imler, Imler's Poultry, with ACE Award

The Blair County Chamber of Commerce bestowed the annual ACE Award to Fred N. Imler Sr. and Imler's Poultry on Thursday, Oct. 15, at the Casino at Lakemont Park.

The ACE Award is the acronym derived from Blair County Agricultural Community Excellence Award and was started as a continuation and expansion of The Chamber's successful Farm Family of the Year Award which was initiated in 1970. In addition to farm families, the ACE Award also allows for nominations of agriculturally oriented individuals, agribusinesses and non-profit organizations.

Donald Brumbaugh was the guest speaker at the event. His family received the first Farm-City Award in 1970.

Fred Sr. was born in Altoona. His parents were Lester and Mary C. Imler. He was educated in the Hollidaysburg Area schools. Fred married Joann R. Erb, who supported Fred in all of his many endeavors. They were blessed by having 64 wonderful years together until her passing. Fred and Joann have four children: Nancy Morgan, Cheryl Davis, Fred N. Imler II and Karen Hetrick. They also have a total of 40 grandchildren, great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.

Although having a busy life, Fred Sr. and Joann had time to travel extensively. They visited 46 states, many countries, and enjoyed 28 ocean cruises.

Fred Sr. is a member of the Grace United Church of Christ and has attended this church his entire life. He has served on the church council for more than 45 years as deacon and elder. He also served as president for 14 years.

Jaffa Shrine

Fred Sr. joined Portage Lodge and Jaffa Shrine in 1968. At his first meeting, he met his longtime friend Ray Nycum. Since they both loved horses they immediately joined the Jaffa Mounted Patrol. During the second meeting, Fred was elected president and Ray was secretary/treasurer. Fred and Ray have been riding together for more than 50 years.

His interest grew in the organization and in 1976 he became an elected official of the Jaffa Shrine and in 1980 he became the potentate. While serving in that position, he created the Shriners' Hospital Crusade. This crusade began in Altoona and is now recognized in the other six Shrine centers across the state of Pennsylvania. The main focus of this crusade is to share the successes of the Shriners' Hospitals helping children achieve a better life, and raise money for their continued efforts. Fred held the office of state chairman of this crusade for more than 20 years.

In 2003, Fred Sr. was recognized with the Imperial Potentate Award of Merit. This honor is given to the individual who achieves success, selflessness, and extraordinary contributions to the heritage culture and mission of the Shrine to the mission of the Shriners' Hospitals. At the time, there were 500,000 active members and only three members per year receive this award.

Board of Directors At Homewood

In 2002, Fred Sr. was appointed as a member of the Board of Directors at the Martinsburg Homewood Retirement Community. His focus on this board was to help Homewood continue its mission of providing highest quality healthcare and retirement services. He was also appointed to the Homewood Foundation Board. This board sees over all five facilities that are located in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. He was the chairman of this board for two years. Homewood has been recognized in the industry as one of the outstanding facilities in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Fred Sr. currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Central PA Community Foundation. He is also the treasurer. This organization provides a permanent trust that will help the community in the future by providing a perpetual fund to aid civic and charitable projects. They also distribute many scholarships to worthy area students annually. In addition, Fred Sr. supports many local and national groups and organizations that are too many to mention individually.

Horse and Wagon

In 1903, Fred Sr's great-great-uncle Leff Imler began business in Bedford County by bringing farm products to Altoona by horse and wagon. In 1915, Fred's grandfather Charles Imler purchased the business and in 1918 moved the business to 58th Street in Altoona. With Charles passing, Lester (Fred's father) began operating the business. The operation consisted of sales at their store, Altoona Farmer's Market and sales to local grocery stores.

The business was always built around fresh poultry. Although the supply of locally grown birds was ample at that time for their needs, business grew and it was now necessary to haul live birds from Virginia and West Virginia. Many days, Fred would work in the plant until noon then drive to Virginia, pick up a load of chickens, and return in the early morning to unload. He would then return to work at 7 a.m. to start the process all over again.

Problems arose finding the quality of live turkeys that Imler's wanted for its customers, so the business decision to grow as many turkeys as possible was made. This involved building brooder houses and pole barns to house the birds. These birds were received on the Imler farm when they were hatched and one day old. This construction project was completed during down time at the processing plant. This resulted in many days working from dawn till dark.

As the business grew, Lester took Fred and his brother Richard in as business partners in 1952. Numerous buildings had to be built on the farm to care for the thousands of birds that arrived when they were days old. The special Broad Breasted Birds were well received and were very popular in central Pennsylvania.

In 1968, Lester passed away leaving the business to Fred and Richard. For nine years, the brothers worked together in the family business. In 1977, Richard had other interests and Fred bought his brother's interest in the business. One year later, Fred Sr. named his son, Fred II, as his new business partner.

New Focus

In 1980, the focus of Imler's Poultry L.P. moved from processing of protein items to the distribution of food products. Two years later, Imler's Poultry secured two chains of National Accounts and the business took off. In 1984, Fred Sr, Joann and Fred II purchased a warehouse facility located in Altoona on Beale Avenue and with their fleet of 10 trucks the business moved forward to the next level. In 1999, Bryan Imler, Fred Sr's. grandson, was also named as a business partner. In 2017, Imler's Poultry incorporated.

Many expansions and an eventual move to Duncansville, Imler's Poultry Inc. now generates more than $150 million worth of business in the eastern part of the United States. The inventory now consists of thousands of items including poultry, beef, pork, seafood, deli meats, cheese, produce, paper products.

To effectively handle this vast line, Imler's Poultry Transportation Inc. was founded in 1992. The fleet now consists of more than 80 trucks, trailers, and refrigerated trailers. The fleet travels over 5.5 million miles annually.

For many years, Fred and Fred II have attended the 4H and FFA auctions at county fairs across central Pennsylvania. It is very rewarding to purchase animals and poultry produced by these enthusiastic teenagers. Many times the income from these fairs is a start for their college education.

For more than 20 years, Fred has been going to the Morrison's Cove Produce Auction. It is here that Imler's gets a good supply of beautiful flowers and the finest vegetables and fruits. These items are sold in the Imler's Outlet as well as across our distribution area.

Fred continues to be at the office daily as there are always parts of this huge operation he likes to be a part of. Fred II and Bryan are successfully leading Imler's Poultry Inc. They are assisted by a dedicated group of employees that are treated as extended Imler family members.

With as much as 300,000 to 450,000 pounds of product being delivered daily, it is quite a change from the day of the horse and wagon.

 

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