Eyes on Associates

By WPVGA

As I wrote this, my last “Eyes on Associates” column, the Industry Show was in its final day. The 2023 Grower Education Conference & Industry Show was well attended as evidenced by vehicle parking spilling over into side streets and neighboring parking lots.

One gentleman pulled me aside and offered a suggestion on the format of the show. We appreciate and encourage any feedback on any of the events that we host. Thank you!

Wednesday morning, we had our WPVGA Associate Division Annual Meeting. One of the key items on the agenda was to approve some changes to the by-laws that govern the Associate Division Board of Directors. We ran into a situation this term where one of the elected members of the Board changed jobs and was no longer employed by an Associate Division member company. The

Cartwright,

new employer had no interest in becoming an Associate Division member and the by-laws did not give clear direction for handling this.

Since we were making changes to this area, we decided to pour through the whole document. Corrections as simple as punctuation and spelling all the way up to term length guidelines were made.

Term Lengths

One of the notable changes made was to the term length of board members. Each will now serve two 3-year terms instead of two 2-year terms. This will also result in nine total members on the Board.

We felt that an odd number of members would facilitate a tiebreaker when voting on issues. Longer terms would provide better continuity across the Board and more experience for those elected to officer positions. Voters at the annual meeting unanimously adopted the changes to the by-laws.

Three new board members were elected to fill vacant seats at the Annual Meeting—Melissa Heise of Swiderski Equipment, Emily Phelps of Jay-Mar, Inc., and Brandon Taylor of Exit Realty CW. Congratulations!

There were no incumbents on the ballot this year. Existing board members agreed to take on additional years of service as part of the transition to the new two 3-year terms format.

The new officers elected to the Board of Directors are:

• President – Matt Selenske from Allied Cooperative’s Pest Pros Division

• Vice president – Andy Verhasselt of T.I.P., Inc.

• Secretary – Emily Phelps of Jay-Mar, Inc.

• Treasurer – Paul Salm of BMO Harris Bank

Wednesday evening was the annual WPVGA Associate Division Banquet, and the food was excellent! Awards were given to deserving WPVGA members, and cash prizes drawn.

Malorie Paine, Farming for the Future Foundation (FFTFF) marketing and communications manager, gave an update on the construction and fundraising progress for the new Food + Farm Exploration Center, in Plover.

She reinforced the importance of the FFTFF mission “to educate current and future generations about agricultural innovation and sustainability.”

Wrapping up the evening was entertainment by Greg Peterson of the Peterson Farm Brothers from Kansas. Greg and his brothers and family use music parody videos to send a similar message and educate the public about agriculture. He did a fantastic job, and it was fun to watch the crowd’s response to their videos.

The Associate Division’s next big fundraising event, the Putt-Tato Open, July 12, 2023, at Bullseye Golf Club, in Wisconsin Rapids, seems like a long ways off, but it will be here before you know it.

I am the only member leaving the Board this year. It has been an honor to serve these last four years on the WPVGA Associate Division Board of Directors. I continue to be humbled by the cooperation and support from all corners of the agriculture industry. Thank you to all, and God bless!

Julie Cartwright

Outgoing WPVGA Associate Division President

At lunch on Tuesday, February 7, during the 2023 Industry Show, Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA) Executive Director Tamas Houlihan presented Julie Cartwright with a plaque honoring her dedicated service on the Associate Division Board of Directors. Cartwright, of Jay-Mar, Inc., completed her last year on the Board in 2023, having served as president in her final term.