Cooperative Communications Association Awards

Left: Amy Bradford
Right: Jenny Haycraft

Four GROWMARK employees were honored at the recent Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) Institute, held in Kansas City, Mo. First place awards went to Karen Jones, publications and news specialist and Tiffany Loercher, graphic designer in the employee magazine category and the cooperative education categories for the GROWMARK Spirit. Second place honors were earned by Amy Bradford, corporate communications manager, in the speechwriting category; Jenny Haycraft, marketing communications specialist, for the 2009 Crop Protection Handbook; and Jones in the words and pictures category.

The Cooperative Communicators Association works to help its members excel in communications, from writing, photography, and editing to video, layout, and design. It also emphasizes ideas and strategies aimed at making communications more successful for cooperatives.

Left: Tiffany Loercher

Right: Karen Jones

Claude Gauthier Elected CCA President

Claude Gauthier, Ontario Region manager, has been elected president of the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA), a national organization representing more than 2,000 cooperatives and credit unions across Canada.

Gauthier joined the CCA board in 2004 and previously held the role of vice president. He is a long-time leader in Ontario's agricultural cooperative community. He served as president of United Co-operatives of Ontario (UCO) in the 1990s and joined GROWMARK when it bought UCO in 1994.

North Wellington Co-op Celebrates 65 Years of Business and a New Central Feed Warehouse

This article appeared on Marketwire on June 23, 2009 and was written by Janice Johnson, Ontario communication specialist.

A 65th anniversary celebration for North Wellington Co-operative Services, Inc. will include a gift to its members in the form of a new central feed warehouse at the cooperative's combination grand opening and anniversary gathering starting at 11:30 a.m. on June 25th at 56 Margaret St. South in Harriston, Ontario.

The new central feed warehouse replaces an older feed manufacturing mill. A much larger building than the previous one, it measures 40 ft. x 100 ft. and is large enough to serve all four branches and customers of North Wellington Co-operative. It will house bagged feed, and will include a large generator equipped to fully power the store, warehouse, propane plant, crop protection warehouse and cardlock gas bar in the case of a power outage.

Kelly Boyle, the cooperative's general manager, sees this as a much needed change and a better use of space. Customers will notice improvements in a few ways, but the biggest benefit is that in most cases, they will be able to pick up orders with one stop at the new warehouse instead of multiple stops around the property. "As well, the improvement to our appearance in the community will be an extra bonus for our neighbors as they enjoy the nicer view," Boyle says.
"We are one of the strongest cooperatives in Ontario," says North Wellington Co-operative Services President Eric Rae. "For a business to grow for 65 years, it not only requires a strong group of employees, an outstanding management team and board of directors but also a great amount of community spirit and customer-member loyalty."

After the grand opening ceremony, a barbecue lunch will be served to celebrate the cooperative's milestone anniversary.

An early picture of the cooperative in Harriston, Ontario.

North Wellington Co-operative Services, Inc. started as Harriston Co-operative Association on May 9, 1944 with the purchase of a feed mill on Margaret Street in Harriston. In 1956, the cooperative built a new feed mill, and entered into the bulk fuel business and a couple of years later, provided propane services. In 1960, Mount Forest District Co-operative Co. Ltd. became part of the Harriston group, and the expanded co-operative gained the name it has today. In the early nineties, during a process called Co-operative Restructuring in Ontario, the cooperative purchased the Hanover and Durham branches from United Co-operatives of Ontario, and in 1994, joined the new Ontario regional cooperative GROWMARK, Inc. The next decade was a time of calculated growth: The cooperative demonstrated its commitment to providing garden expertise and opened four new greenhouses. It expanded its energy product offering with rural energy marketing leader, UPI Inc., and created a central warehouse in Harriston. Today, 4,000 members own the cooperative. It has annual sales approaching $28 million and in 2008, had a net income of more than 475 thousand dollars. Profits of the cooperative are shared with members and used to improve the services of the cooperative.

The Harriston office of North Wellington Co-operative Services, Inc. today.

Agrichemical Container Recycling

Once again, GROWMARK is working with the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Container Recycling Council, Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association, Container Services Network, Illinois Farm Bureau, and University of Illinois Extension to offer agrichemical container recycling beginning in late July. The containers will be ground into small plastic chips that can be used to make shipping pallets, fence posts, drainage tubing, plastic lumber and other useful products.

Special one-day collection sites will be:

Two Rivers FS, Inc., Pittsfield, Ill., afternoon of July 27

Lincoln Land FS, Inc., Jacksonville, Ill., morning of July 28

Sunrise Ag Service Company, Virginia, Ill., afternoon of July 28

Two Rivers FS, Inc., Rushville, Ill., morning of July 29

Gold Star FS, Inc., Aledo, Ill., afternoon of July 30

Gold Star FS, Inc., Lyndon, Ill., afternoon of August 3

Conserv FS, Inc., Rockford, Ill., afternoon of August 4

Conserv FS, Inc., Marengo, Ill., morning of August 5

GRAINCO FS, Inc., Lostant, Ill., morning of August 6

Evergreen FS, Inc., Minonk, Ill., afternoon of August 6

Ag-Land FS, Inc., Hanna City, Ill., afternoon of August 10

Ag-Land FS, Inc., Green Valley, Ill., morning of August 11

Illini FS, Leverett, Ill., afternoon of August 13

Evergreen FS, Inc., Maroa, Ill., morning of August 14

Gateway FS, Inc., Waterloo, Ill., afternoon of August 26

Madison Service Company, Marine, Ill., afternoon of August 27

M & M Service Company, Girard, Ill., morning of September 1

More information about the program is available by calling the Illinois Department of Agriculture at 800/641-3934.

Twelve Facilities Earn National Safety Council Recognition

Employees at 12 GROWMARK facilities earned safety recognition awards from the National Safety Council for having an injury/incidence rate for 2008 lower than the national average for their location's National American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code.

The facilities earning recognition are:

Albany Maintenance, Illinois
Alpha Distribution Center, Illinois
Bloomington Seed Testing Lab, Illinois
Bourbon Fertilizer, Illinois
Colfax Fertilizer, Illinois
Des Moines Maintenance, Iowa
East Liverpool Fertilizer, Pennsylvania
GROWMARK Lubricants, Iowa
Philadelphia Fertilizer, Pennsylvania
South Roxana Maintenance, Illinois
Tank and Truck Center, Iowa
Tremont Maintenance, Illinois

2009 GROWMARK Intern Class Selected

In the fiftieth year of the program, 48 college students are exploring career opportunities as GROWMARK Summer Interns. They are working at FS cooperatives in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Ontario; at GROWMARK FS, LLC and Seedway, LLC; and at the GROWMARK corporate office in Bloomington, Ill.

The interns are exposed to accounting, marketing, research, communications, and product and service-related activities.

The group attended an orientation program at the GROWMARK corporate office in May, and will reconvene in June for an agribusiness tour. Each intern will complete a special project and deliver a presentation on that project in August.

The interns come to GROWMARK from:

Brock University

Megan Farr, daughter of Gord and Kelly Farr of Churchill, Ontario, is majoring in business administration and working at Vineland Growers Co-operative, Ltd.

Delaware Valley College

Kery Swope, son of Ken and Sue Swope of Marietta, Pa., is majoring in agribusiness and working at Seedway, LLC.

Lucas Waybright, son of Bert and Cheryl Waybright of Gettysburg, Pa., is majoring in agribusiness and working at GROWMARK FS, LLC.

Illinois College

Heather Miller, daughter of Robert and Kathi Miller of Bloomington, Ill., is majoring in communications/political science and working in the Corporate Communications and Marketing Services Division of GROWMARK.

Illinois State University

Nathon Scheirer, son of Daniel and Debera Scheirer of Metamora, Ill., is majoring in agricultural industry management and working at Ag View FS, Inc.

Matthew Thompson, son of Tom Thompson of Sherman, Ill. and Donna Hartman of Greenview, Ill., is majoring in agricultural industry management and working in the Agronomy Division of GROWMARK.

Matthew Witte, son of Chris and Linda Witte of Shirley, Ill., is majoring in agribusiness and agronomy and working for Evergreen FS, Inc.

Iowa State University

Andrea Beatty, daughter of Daniel and Nancy Beatty of Mendota, Ill., is majoring in agricultural education and studies and is working at Ag View FS, Inc.

Garrett Boeding, son of Lynn and Dee Boeding of New Hampton, Iowa, is majoring in ag studies and working at AgVantage FS, Inc.

Michael Brown, son of Robert and Debra Brown of Winfield, Iowa, is majoring in agriculture studies and working at New Century FS, Inc.

Jess Cavin, son of Mark and Diane Cavin of Sigourney, Iowa, is majoring in agribusiness and working at New Century FS, Inc.

Brandon Milligan, son of Mark and Christie Milligan of Baxter, Iowa, is majoring in agricultural studies and working at New Century FS, Inc.

Jennifer Mormann, daughter of Dan and Sandy Mormann of New Vienna, Iowa, is majoring in dairy science and working at Three Rivers FS Company.

Travis Rudat, son of Todd Rudat of Columbus, Neb. and David and Melissa Poore of Council Bluffs, Iowa is majoring in logistics and supply chain management and working in the Logistics Division of GROWMARK.

Chasen Stevenson, son of Rick and Tamra Stevenson of Knoxville, Iowa, is majoring in agricultural studies and working at AGRILAND FS, INC.

Pennsylvania State University

Joseph Leslie, son of David and Brenda Leslie of Connoquenessing, Pa., is majoring in agribusiness management and working at GROWMARK FS, LLC.

Kristina McAllister, daughter of Wesley and Paula McAllister of Petersburg, Pa., is majoring in animal sciences and working at GROWMARK FS, LLC.

Andrew Snyder, son of Ed and Sally Snyder of Boyertown, Pa., is majoring in agribusiness management and working at GROWMARK FS, LLC.

Kathryn Tokarz, daughter of Joseph and Cecelia Tokarz of Mansfield, Pa., is majoring in agribusiness management and working at Seedway, LLC.

Purdue University

Travis Coty, son of Mike and Gina Coty of Reminton, Ind., is majoring in biology and working at Ag View FS, Inc.

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

Kathleen Carmack, daughter of John and Janet Carmack of Villa Grove, Ill., is majoring in plant and soil science and working at Illini FS.

Kevin Fry, son of Clell and Rita Fry of Stoy, Ill., is majoring in agribusiness economics and working at Wabash Valley Service Company.

Lucas Harre, son of Curt and Jodi Harre of Nashville, Ill., is majoring in plant and soil science and working at AgriPride FS, Inc.

Dane Kief, son of Elmer and Karen Kief of Rankin, Ill., is majoring in agricultural systems technology and working at Illini FS.

Truman State University

John Sheehan, son of John and Barbara Sheehan of Jefferson City, Mo., is majoring in accounting and working for AGRILAND FS, INC.

University of Guelph

Claire Daly, daughter of Keith and Annette Daly of Uxbridge, Ontario, is majoring in animal science and working at Sunderland Co-operative, Inc.

Cate McCorquodale, daughter of Murray and Cassie McCorquodale of Embro, Ontario, is majoring in animal science and working at FS PARTNERS.

University of Illinois

Rachel Deters, daughter of Michael and Rebekah Deters of Teutopolis, Ill., is majoring in agribusiness marketing and management and working at Effingham-Clay Service Company.

Bradley Follmer, son of Michael and Mary Follmer of Graymont, Ill., is majoring in agribusiness marketing and management and working at Evergreen FS, Inc.

Chris Keblusek, son of Michael and Sue Keblusek of St. Charles, Ill., is majoring in advertising and working at Conserv FS, Inc.

Mak Kern, son of Michael Kern of Kansas, Ill. and Suz Stevens of Kansas, Ill., is majoring in agrifinance and working at Illini FS.

Adam Leady, son of Ed and Vicky Leady of St. Charles, Mo. and Ralph and Sue Mateer of Blue Mound, Ill., is majoring in Technical Systems Management and working at Illini FS.

Mitch Lindberg, son of Kevin and Kim Lindberg of Galva, Ill., is majoring in agricultural engineering and working in the Facility Planning and Supply Division of GROWMARK.

Adam Moritz, son of Phillip and Kristi Moritz of Buckingham, Ill., is majoring in agribusiness and working at Conserv FS, Inc.

Mark Smith, son of Roger and Carol Smith of Earlville, Ill., is majoring in crop sciences and working in the Seed Division of GROWMARK.

Ben Wendling, son of Rick and Sara Wendling of Mason, Ill., is majoring in agricultural economics and working at Total Grain Marketing, LLC.

University of Northern Iowa

Ryan Musson, son of Robert and Barbara Musson of Iowa City, Iowa is majoring in accounting and working at AGRILAND FS, INC.

Krista Schmeling, daughter of Mike and Bobbi Schmeling of Milford, Iowa, is majoring in finance/real estate and working at AgVantage FS, Inc.

University of Wisconsin – Madison

Scott Rowntree, son of Tom and Kay Rowntree of Waterford, Wis., is majoring in agronomy and soil science and working at Conserv FS, Inc.

University of Wisconsin-Platteville

Ross Brunsman, son of Wayne and Denise Brunsman of Dyersville, Iowa, is majoring in soil and crop science and dairy science and working at Three Rivers FS Company.

Curtis Goeke, son of David and Valerie Goeke of Dakota, Ill., is majoring in agricultural business and working at Stephenson Service Company.

Joel Lasack, son of Jim and Lola Lasack of Oxford Junction, Iowa, is majoring in agribusiness and working at AgVantage FS, Inc.

Drew Nesemeier, son of John and Jan Nesemeier of Milledgeville, Ill., is majoring in soil and crop science and working at Gold Star FS, Inc.

Jacob Robinson, son of Richard and Nancy Robinson of Alexis, Ill., is majoring in agribusiness and working at Gold Star FS, Inc.

Matthew Schlachter, son of Todd and Lorrie Schlachter of Lena, Ill., is majoring in soil and crop science and working at Stephenson Service Company.

Western Illinois University

Jake Bonnell, son of Janice Bonnell of Amboy, Ill., is majoring in agricultural business and working in the Seed Division of GROWMARK.

Brian Fairfull, son of Bruce and Jill Fairfull of Virden, Ill., is majoring in agricultural science/agronomy and working at M & M Service Company.

Shannon VanTine, daughter of Tim and Robin Ebert of Oquawka, Ill., is majoring in accounting and working at Ag View FS, Inc.

“This year’s intern group is one of the largest, and very diverse,” said Steve German, GROWMARK university relations and member employment manager. “The interns come from the Midwest, the East Coast and Ontario, Canada. They represent a range of career interests as well – agronomy, seed, crop protection, communications, logistics, structures, accounting, turf, dairy nutrition, precision farming, agri-finance, marketing, and grain.”

The GROWMARK intern program began in 1959 with three interns. Since then, 685 students have been involved in the program. “We are currently hiring an average of 50-70 percent of our summer interns into full-time employment throughout the System,” German said.

Krista Wolf Honored by NAMA

Krista Wolf, GROWMARK manager, brand strategy and marketing communications, was recently honored by the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) with the Horizon Award at its recent conference in Atlanta, Ga.

The Horizon Award recognizes achievements by up-and-coming members of the organization on local, regional, and national levels. Wolf’s work in energizing the Heartland NAMA Chapter and leadership role in planning Regional Best of NAMA events earned her the award.

NAMA is the nation’s largest professional association for professionals in marketing and agribusiness.