Progressions
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ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION Fall 2014 PROGRESSIONS W ELCOME TO THE C LASS OF 2016 The IALP Class of 2016: Back row: Whit Dhamer, Steve Bridge, A.J. Woodyard, Brad Uken, K.J. Johnson, Ryan Buckles, Joel Barickman, Darren Sims. Second row from top: President/CEO Don Norton, Joe Zumwalt, Rob Sharkey, Micah Pope, Da- vid Jansen, Stephen Huls, Brian Satorius, Kirk Liefer. Third row from top: Jill Freuh, Julie Wankel, Marc Bremer, Brandy Marron, Dave Mohochko, Krista Lottinville, Grant Noland, Kimberly Meier. Bottom row: Kyle Schaeffer, Katie Lyons, Matt Kellogg, Dana Weigand, Jennifer Waters, Karlie Elliott Bowman, and David Mool. Thirty men and women have been selected to be fellows in the Illinois Agri- IN THIS ISSUE: th cultural Leadership Foundation (IALF) Class of 2016. This is the 17 two-year ►President’s Message.…..1 ►Class Focus……...............2 class in the organization’s 32-year history. ►Warfield Endowment .....3 The class represents a diverse mix of agricultural expertise – a unique charac- ►New Alumni Director …...4 teristic of the IALF program. There are 13 full-time and six part-time farmers, ►Alumni News .……………...5 ►4th Quarter Investors.7, 8 along with representatives of multinational agricultural companies such as BASF, Cargill and Potash Corporation. Also represented are employees of the Illinois Chemical & Fertilizer Association, GROWMARK, CGB and TeeJet Technologies. The class also includes two county Farm Bureau managers, the Facilitating Coordination in Agricultural Education Program (FCAE) in the Illi- nois Department of Education, a scientific researcher from the University of Illi- nois, and employees of 1st Farm Credit Services and Farm Credit Illinois. Page 2 Fall 2014 A Right and A Responsibility by Don Norton My mother passed away last Novem- U.S. Senator, among others. And there ber and I’ve been thinking are five ballot measures as well—two quite a bit about what she are regarding constitutional amend- taught me over the years. ments: the right to vote (and not have One of those lessons is to show identification,) and modifica- about voting. tions to the Crime Victims’ Bill of I vividly recall going Rights. with her to what would be Three ballot measures are advisory my elementary school and and would advise the legislature on in- actually walking into the creasing the minimum wage, requiring voting booth with her. birth control in prescription drug cover- Those were the days of the age insurance, and increasing taxes on massive machines with those with income of more than 1 mil- levers next to candidates’ lion dollars. CLASS OF 2016 names. To cast a vote you had to crank There were also some proposed bal- SEMINAR SCHEDULE: down pretty hard on some of those lev- lot measures that are not on the ballot November 24-25— ers. Looking back, I recall that it took this year; among them are independent Professionalism & Leader- quite a long time to haul out, wait in redistricting and term limits for legisla- line, work the machine and head back tors. Although they had the required ship Opportunities Seminar home. number of signatures, a Cook County sponsored by Cargill at To this day I can clearly recall her judge threw them out. Kinderhook Lodge in Bar- answer when I asked her why she voted. Obviously, there’s a great deal at ry, Illinois. “Many people gave their lives so that stake with these issues. Read up on we have this right,” she said. them, talk about them with your friends, December 15-17— As election season draws close, Illi- and then—VOTE! You know what my Communication Excellence nois voters have some serious decisions mother would say. to make. We’ll vote for Governor and Seminar sponsored by Archer Daniels Midland C LASS OF 2016 F OCUS Company to be held Brandy Marron, Fithian, is a researcher in Stephen Huls, St. Joseph, farms his own on the campus of the Laboratory of Molecu- land and helps John Deere World lar Genetics in the Animal manage his par- Headquarters in Sciences Department of the ents’ farm in Moline. University of Illinois. She Champaign and grew up loving the country Vermilion Coun- life and working with hors- ties. He is active January 21-23, es, and now helps with her in the Illinois and 2015—Richard husband’s 5th generation National Corn Ryan Economics & farm. In addition to her Growers Associa- the Marketplace membership in the Illinois tions and the Illi- Seminar to be held Farm Bureau and the Illi- nois Soybean As- in Chicago. nois Soybean Association, sociation, and Brandy is on the Board of Directors of the serves on the Vermilion County Farm Bu- February 11-13, 2015— Danville Boys and Girls Club and continues reau Board of Directors where he has been Kim Morton National Agri- to be a statewide 4-H horse contest judge. Chair of the Young Leaders Group. Ste- culture Policy Seminar to She has numerous published research papers phen earned an Associate of Science degree be held at the University of and a Master of Science degree from the Uni- in Agriculture from Parkland College and is versity of Illinois Department of Animal Sci- a graduate of the Cultivating Master Farm- Illinois College of ACES. ences. ers program. PROGRESSIONS Page 3 International Perspectives Seminar Endowed by the Warfield Family The Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation (IALF) has received an endowment from Ron and Melanie Warfield of Gibson City, Illinois, to fund a seminar in the two-year Illinois Agricultural Lead- ership Program. The “Ron and Melanie Warfield International Perspectives Seminar” will focus on issues relating to the global nature of agriculture and serve to in- crease understanding between peoples of different countries. Primarily, the seminar will address is- sues related to the countries that will be visited by participants during the International Study Seminar in the second year of the program. “Melanie and I met while individually living six Melanie and Ron Warfield months with farm families in Nepal through the 4-H IFYE program,” Warfield said. “Since then, we have served, worked, studied and traveled extensively interna- tionally, which instilled in us the value of having leaders who understand the global nature of food production and distribution. We are very supportive of the work of the IALF and believe in its mission of developing knowl- edgeable and effective leaders to be policy and decision makers for agriculture.” Ron continued to pursue his interest in international food and agriculture in his graduate studies and his Mas- ter’s thesis. In part, his international experience continued with: 14 months in Korea as an Army Officer; multiple trips to Brazil to do a feasibility study on soybean processing; a study exchange visiting Russian State Farms; trade missions with AFBF to Brazil, Argentina, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Cuba; chairing AFBF’S Trade Advisory Committee; chairing AFBF Trade Committee to Doha Trade Talks; and several personal trips to Africa to visit his son and family. On a separate trade mission trip, Melanie met with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. “All of these experiences have reinforced the need for agricultural leaders to understand the intertwined global world in which we live and the importance of the global marketplace for U.S. agriculture,” said Warfield. Ron was elected as the 13th President of the Illinois Farm Bureau and served as full-time executive officer from 1993 to 2003. He was president of the companies that make up COUNTRY Insurance and Financial Ser- vices, Illinois Agricultural Service Company, AgriVisor Services, Inc., and the IAA Foundation. He also served on the Coordinating Committee of GROWMARK, Inc. He was elected in January 1996 to the Board of Directors of the American Farm Bureau Federation and was appointed to the AFBF Board Executive Committee in January 2000. Ron was a member of the first class to graduate from the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program, and was named a Master Farmer in 1992 by Prairie Farmer magazine. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Illinois, where he was also an instructor, and has served on the University’s Ag Alumni Board. “The IALF is extremely grateful to Melanie and Ron for their devotion to our leadership program and generos- ity to the Foundation,” said IALF President & CEO Don Norton. “Their gift will ensure that we are able to con- tinue to deliver high quality leadership training with an international perspective.” Page 4 Fall 2014 T ORCH OF L EADERSHIP It was a grand celebration when 170 people attended the inaugural “Torch of Leadership” award banquet to celebrate the careers of four distinguished ag- ricultural leaders. The August 23rd event filled the ballroom at the Doubletree Conference Center in Blooming- ton. The recipients were Becky Doyle (IALP ’84), former Direc- WE APPRECIATE OUR tor of the Illinois Department of CORPORATE SPONSORS Agriculture along with Dan Kel- ley (IALP ’84), Gerry Salzman (IALP ’92) and veteran farm broadcaster Orion Samuelson, From left, Orion Samuelson, Becky Doyle and Dan Kelley a 30-year member of the IALF with their ‘Torch of Leadership” awards. Gerry Salzman could not attend because of a prior commitment, Board of Directors. but was able to provide an acceptance video. Meet Our Alumni and Special Events Director Jill Biehl, of Belleville, IL, has begun her duties as Alumni and Special Events Director for the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foun- dation (IALF). Biehl earned a Master of Science degree in Education from the University of Illinois, has taught in the Illinois public school sys- tem, and has worked on her family’s grain and livestock farm. “Our mission of developing knowledgea- ble and effective leaders includes providing advanced training for our graduates and addi- tional leadership education for the agricultur- al industry,” said Don Norton, President & CEO of the IALF.