WENATCHEE — Delbert Vanderhoff of Wenatchee had no idea he’d been named the 2026 Apple Blossom Citizen of the Year. 

“I can’t believe they did that,” Vanderhoff said. “I’ve always told my kids, ‘This is a small town. I know everybody. You can probably do things, but you need to understand that I will find out.’ When Darci (Christopherson) came in and surprised me, I said, ‘I can’t believe you kept it a secret.’” 

Christopherson, the Apple Blossom Festival coordinator, said Vanderhoff was selected by a board made up of past winners, who look for things like community involvement, commitment to furthering the industry and mentoring the next generation of growers. 

“(Vanderhoff) has been in the business since he graduated high school,” Christopherson said. “He’s very passionate about it.” 

Vanderhoff is the owner of Chamberlin Ag, a farm supply business his father co-founded in 1949. A native of Wenatchee, Vanderhoff graduated from Wenatchee High School in 1971, according to the Apple Blossom Festival’s announcement of his award. He attended Washington State University, then returned home in 1974 to help his father run the business. Today, Chamberlin Ag operates facilities in Wenatchee; Cashmere; Hood River, Oregon and Dublin, California. 

“I also grow apples, pears, cherries and wine grapes myself,” Vanderhoff said. “So I have a little bit of a background and knowledge of what the growers go through.” 

These are difficult times for farmers, Vanderhoff said.  

“I wish the ag industry as a whole was doing a little bit better than it is,” he said. “Across the whole country, there aren’t very many segments of ag that are doing well … The price of fruit that we’re selling now is about the same as what it was 15 or 20 years ago, but our labor inputs are quadruple, and our product inputs are way up. It’s putting a struggle on guys to be able to manage all that.” 

International issues like trade barriers and tariffs don’t help, Vanderhoff said. Washington is producing a lot of apples, he said, and opening up new markets would give them a place to sell them. 

“Food security is a big issue, and I think we’re making a lot of strides there,” Vanderhoff said. “Overall, in the U.S., we have probably the safest, cheapest food supply in the world. It’s security for our citizens and all across the world.”