Chamber Board

Bennie is a busy man running two businesses from the same location in Hatton, Missouri where he has lived since 1954.  He attended Hatton McCredie Elementary School and graduated from North Callaway High School in 1970.  Bennie is the son of Frances and the late Ben Young of Auxvasse.

In January 1971, Bennie opened Young’s Welding and Machine Shop and through the years the business has expanded and flourished.  In addition to supporting local farmers with agricultural needs, Young’s Welding has become a fabrication shop for industries that outsource large projects.  In almost 50 years of business Bennie has had the opportunity to work with many wonderful and talented people in Callaway County and the surrounding areas.

Bennie established Hatton Vermeer Sales in 1978 to provide a full line of hay equipment, parts and service for farmers and cattlemen.  The customer base now covers central and eastern Missouri and western Illinois. Under Bennie’s guidance, Hatton Vermeer Sales has a sales and service team dedicated to its customer base.

Through the years Bennie has consistently been an active member of his community. Bennie was the 115th President of Kingdom Callaway County Supper. Bennie has taught 4-H welding for the past twelve years and he supports the Callaway Youth Expo and the local FFA chapters.  Since 2015 he has been a member of the Callaway Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He is also secretary/treasurer on the Kingdom Telephone Company Board of Directors.  For the past 18 years he has served on the Presbyterian Manor advisory council. Bennie is president of the Presbyterian Cemetery Association as he has been for 29 years.  Bennie is a member of the Pleasant Grove Methodist Church where he is currently the chairman of the board.  He also served on the PGMC trustee committee for nine years, three as chairman. Bennie helped organize the North Callaway Volunteer Fire Department in 1979 and served as captain for the Hatton Station for 22 years.   Bennie also worked on the Callaway County Fair Board for 12 years, three years as president.

In addition to being a successful business man, family is important to Bennie. He and his wife Meda have been married for over 24 years. Between them they have four children and nine grandchildren. Bennie and Meda enjoy attending the grandchildren’s school activities, sports events and riding bikes with them on the Katy trail.  Bennie and Meda are also avid Mizzou fans attending football and basketball games. In his free time Bennie enjoys maintaining his large vegetable garden and his many flower beds.