Frontier FS Pride Program Results

The scores have been tallied and the winners of the 2008 Frontier FS Pride Program are as follows:

First Place: Arlington

Second Place: Rozellville
Third Place: Jefferson Main Office

In total, 15 of the Wisconsin cooperative's 16 facilities earned "Pride Status," meaning they earned at least 90 percent or more of the possible points awarded through the program. All locations earning Pride Status receive a wall plaque and a cash prize. The top-scoring location earns a night on the town for all location employees and their spouses, compliments of the company, and the second and third place locations receive a cash prize to be used for an employee team-building activity.

The Pride Program considers four major categories of a location's appearance - exterior facility and grounds, people, interior, and rolling stock. Within each category are several sub-categories, each of which is ranked on a 10-point scale, with 10 as the highest possible score in any one area. Scoring is done twice a year, in the spring and in the fall, and scores from both inspections are combined to determine the overall rankings.

This year, I was asked to be a judge during the fall Pride Program judging, and I have to say it was a great time! In three days, Sam Skemp, Mike A. Larson, Red Brewer, and I visited all 16 locations, covering hundreds of miles of southeastern Wisconsin countryside. It was neat to see the obvious pride all Frontier employees take in their work and in keeping their workplaces in tip-top condition.

Hot Air Harvest

I received a call from Cindy at GRAINCO FS's Minooka, Ill. facility the other day. She told me a hot air balloon landed in patron Raymond Link's soybean field while he was harvesting. I called Ray and talked to him about the experience.

"The pilot told me she had to land because the balloons can't be up after a half-hour before sunset," he said. "I saw it coming and as it got closer and closer I thought it might land in my field, and sure enough it did."

Link said a second balloon landed in one of his nearby hay fields.

"I couldn't believe how big it was," he added. "When they're up the sky, they don't look that big, but when they land, there's a lot of fabric in that balloon."

Welcome to the GROWMARK System Update blog!

Thank you for taking time to read the latest news about the GROWMARK System! This is where you'll find current stories and updates about people and events in between issues of the Spirit magazine. New entries will be added on a regular basis, so please check back often - or better yet, sign up to receive automatic updates!

If you have ideas, upcoming events, comments, or questions feel free to leave them in the comment section or contact me, Karen Jones, at kjones@growmark.com or 309/557-6184. I would love to hear from you!