UNITED STATES
TWENTY YEARS AGO
Three Amigos in West Texas by Bill Lavender
In this picture are only two amigos, (L-R) Dudley Wooten and Todd Hatla, with Dudley’s son, Jason and third amigo, Max Ellison’s Air Tractor representing him!
B 16 | agairupdate.com
DIMMITT, TX — At the 2001 Texas Agricultural Aviation Association three ag pilot/operators received the District Four Award. This award typically goes to an individual who has done something “spectacular” within the industry, according to Patti Payne, who served on the awards committee. The significance of this award goes a lot further than its intentions, in that these three ag pilots have a uniqueness about them that in the past in this industry has been hard to find, but becoming more common in recent years. When it comes to three ag operators based at the same public airport, working their aircraft
long hard hours, but yet willing to help the other without a single thought otherwise; Max Ellison/ Pro-Ag, Dudley Wooten/B&W Aerial Spray and Todd Hatla/Tidwell Spraying Service set a prime example. It wasn’t that many years ago, when the norm was competitors doing whatever possible to make life miserable for each other. Although, unfortunately, that may still be true in parts of the world, to the credit of the industry, times are changing with more and more ag operators posting a “truce”, helping their competitive neighbors. However, with the “three amigos” of Dimmitt, Texas, this camaraderie has always been the norm.
