True to his character, when asked his most illustrative memory of his work with the National Farm Worker Ministry, Sam Trickey waxes poetic not on the moments in the spotlight or the headline grabbing wins, but on a short, simple conversation with a farm worker. In 2018, as he walked out of the dedication of the new farm worker center in Salinas, CA, Sam was stopped by a farm worker. The man had noticed Sam, who had been recognized for representing NFWM, and struck up a conversation. It was a short chat, just a few minutes. But it stopped Sam in his tracks. This was not just any farm worker. He was a retired farm worker.
“I want you to think about that a minute,” Sam said when recounting the story. “He has a pension from United Farm Workers. He has a medical plan from United Farm Workers….This man was a walking, talking ordinary farm worker who in one person was the incarnation of everything we and others had been trying to do for nearly 60 years. It was an ordinary, mundane conversation…it was just people talking, but that’s the point. That’s not a conversation that a lot of farm workers get to have.”
Sam’s involvement with the NFWM began at the second ever Board meeting in 1971 and he has served in positions from President of the Board (“a highlight of my life!”) to spokesperson – and everything in between. A Theoretical Physicist by profession, Presbyterian by belief, and Texan by rearing, Sam has an innate ability to distill the facts and crunch the numbers to make a compelling point and make it well. He is a natural storyteller and deeply committed to using his gifts and privileges to fight for farm worker rights.
Sam’s commitment to the cause is personal; he describes himself as a servant and an agent for the farm workers. He was introduced to the movement by his first father-in-law, a Mexican immigrant pastor who migrated with his congregation and was involved in the Migrant Ministry of the National Council of Churches. Married to a Mexican-American and having grown up in segregated schools, the experience of both legal and illegal racism shaped his perspective and drew him to the farm worker movement. He became deeply involved, learning fluent Spanish and when his career in academia later took him to Florida, his involvement led him first to Florida Christan Migrant Ministry and thus to the National Farmer Worker Ministry.
From his time in the fields to his leadership roles, the depth of Sam’s impact on the National Farm Worker Ministry cannot be easily recounted within the confines of a few paragraphs. His faith and life trajectory led him to a life of service that ultimately helped shape the National Farm Worker Ministry into the organization it is today. Born in Detroit and reared in northern Texas, Sam lives in Gainesville, Florida with his wife, Cynthia Karle, of 40 years.
