Pete Hildebrand was an incredibly generous mentor to me as a junior faculty member embarking on a new project in the Brazilian Amazon state of Acre. He traveled there with me in 1988 and 1989 to carry out training programs on farming systems research and extension (dubbed "PESA") in Portuguese, and provided constant support and encouragement as I took on overwhelming new tasks. Always humble, he called me the "Manda-Chuva" (Rainmaker) despite his much greater leadership experience. An incredible communicator, he had no problem getting his message across in Spanish to a Portuguese-only speaking group. It was an unforgettable moment when he delivered a motivational speech to our group of agricultural scientists and extensions from this remote Amazonian region, not long after the death of rubber tapper leader Chico Mendes turned the international environmental spotlight on Acre. The gist of that message: "The whole world is looking at Acre today, to see what will be done to bring more sustainable development," he said. "It is up to YOU to take action, before others from the outside impose their own ideas."
Pete sometimes claimed he was a "mercenary, not a missionary," but it wasn't so. He had vision, knew how to get things done, and was dedicated to the people all around him. He developed the revolutionary FSR/E approach and applied it successfully in several countries before coming to UF where he committed himself to training of hundreds of professionals, as well as development of innovative research tools (ethnographic linear programming). He has left a huge legacy and many, many fond memories.
