Thursday, December 17, 2009

Sharing Knowledge Worldwide

On Dec. 16, 25 visitors from the Chinese Agricultural Development Bank of China met with Jeff Solberg, GROWMARK senior vice president of finance; Marshall Bohbrink, GROWMARK vice president of risk management and treasurer; and Gary Nebergall, FS Agri-Finance marketing manager at the GROWMARK headquarters in Bloomington, Ill.




The Chinese visitors were taking part in the University of Illinois China Leadership Program, a customized financial management program at the Urbana-Champaign campus. The program included faculty lectures on financial as well as ag-related topics.


As a complement to their classroom study, the visitors were also able to meet with various agribusiness leaders in Illinois, as well as American farmers.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

A Year's Worth of Safety

After a one year hiatus, Safety and Insurance Services once again ran their Children’s’ Safety Poster Contest this fall. Open to children and grandchildren of FS member cooperative and GROWMARK facility employees, the contest had an excellent result with more than 100 posters submitted from 18 member cooperatives.

"We were very happy with the quality of the posters drawn by the children and grandchildren of our System employees," said Doug DeFilippo, safety services manager. "The selection process was difficult with so many posters showing excellent safety messages."


Each entrant receives a certificate of appreciation and the 12 winning posters will be featured on the 2010 GROWMARK Compliance Calendar. The winning artists will also receive their choice of a savings bond, Walmart, Toys R Us, or FS gift card.


This year's winners are:


January: Bretlyn Crow, age 12, Lincoln Land FS, Inc.


February: Yaley Steele, age 11, Gateway FS, Inc.


March: Kenzy Moore, age 8, Wabash Valley Service Company


April: Katie Gress, age 8, AgVantage FS


May: Mackenzie Cryder, age 10, GRAINCO FS, Inc.


June: Paige Myroth, age 10, Conserv FS, Inc.


July: Cole Perry, age 13, Gateway FS, Inc.


August: Emily Knuth, age 9, Frontier FS Cooperative


September: Erica Patrick, age 9, Frontier FS Cooperative


October: Travis Hahn, age 8, Frontier FS Cooperative


November: Kaitlin Rutz, age 13, Madison Service Company


December: Katilin Schmitz, age 7, Gateway FS, Inc.