Five of Growmark's 16 director seats, established by geographic governance zones, were elected and will serve three-year terms.

The five established governance zones cover all of North America; there are multiple directors per zone. One at-large director represents the Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin Farm Bureaus. Growmark is affiliated with Farm Bureau in those states.

These folks were elected to Growmark's board at the cooperative's annual meeting in Chicago last week.

Zone A – Rick Nelson of Paxton, Ill., has served on the board since 1990. Nelson was also elected vice-chairman of the board.

Growmark Seats New Board Members At Annual Meeting

He was elected vice chairman in 2004. He and his wife Pat operate a 2,100 acre cash grain farm. He is also president of the Ludlow Cooperative Elevator Board.

Ron Pierson, Walnut, was elected to his first term on the board. Ron and his wife, Cari, operate a 1,500 acre grain and cattle farm. He is active in his church and community and serves as president of Ag View FS.

Zone B – Chet Esther, Frederick, has served on the Growmark board since 1994. Esther was also elected vice chairman of the board.

He and his wife Lori, along with their two sons, operate a 4,700-acre grain farm. He currently serves as president of Two Rivers FS.

Zone C – John Reifsteck, Champaign, has served on the board since 1993. He was elected chairman of the board.

He and his wife, Nancy, operate a corn and soybean farm in western Champaign County.

Zone D – Kevin Herink, Clutier, Iowa, has served on the Growmark board since 2010. He and his wife, Tammy, Tammy operate a 1500-acre family farm, market 5,000 head of hogs annually, and keep a small herd of Gelbvieh cows. Since 1987, Kevin has served several terms on his local cooperative boards, and is currently vice president of the board of New Century FS.  

Zone F – Warren Jibb operates a 750-acre dairy and crop farm with his brother and family members near Sunderland, Ontario. Warren is President of Sunderland Co-operative.

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Long-term service recognized
Growmark also recognized two directors for their service to the board:

Denis Bourdeau, Embrun, Ontario, has served on the Board since 2007. He and his wife Hélène own a fifth-generation family farm, including dairy and cash crops, as well as operating a bed and breakfast. Denis also serves on the board of La Co-operative Agricole d'Embrun.

Dan Kelley, Normal, has served on the Board since 1995, and was named Chairman of the Board and President in 2000. He and his wife, Pam, operate a grain farm in partnership with their son and Dan's two brothers.

Kelley has been a director of Evergreen FS, Inc., Bloomington, since 1977, serving as president from 1985 to 2008.  He served as a director of Farmland Mutual Insurance Company, Des Moines, Iowa, from 2003 to 2008.  He was elected to the Nationwide Board of Directors, Columbus, Ohio, in April 2006, and was named to the board of Nationwide Bank in March 2009.  Dan was elected to the CoBank Board of Directors, Denver, Colorado, in January 2004 and has served as first vice chairman since 2007.  He has also served as chairman of the CoBank Budget/Finance Committee, and is currently a member of the Executive and Compensation Committees. 

Source: Growmark