The Illinois Corn Growers Association held its annual meeting in Bloomington, Ill., last week. Outgoing president Aron Carlson, Winnebago, presented several awards, and the association elected new officers. They are:
• President Ted Mottaz, Elmwood
• Vice President Bill Leigh, Minonk
• Treasurer Matt Rush, Fairfield
• Secretary Dave Rylander, Victoria

Carlson also presented the following awards on behalf of ICGA:

• Excellence in Media Award. Radio broadcaster Mike Adams was given the association’s Excellence in Media Award.

Host of “Adams on Agriculture,” Adams began his career broadcasting at WLDS in Jacksonville in 1974. He was the station’s farm director, covering important events, for 27 years. He then worked at AgriTalk starting in 2001, until he started “Adams on Agriculture” last year.

“We are happy to offer this recognition to Mike Adams,” Carlson said. “In previous years, we were so pleased with Mike’s promotion of ethanol and his coverage of ethanol issues during his Ethanol Pump Tour on AgriTalk. More recently, our board was impressed with his coverage on ‘Adams on Agriculture.’”

• Ethanol Award. Hennepin-based Marquis Energy won the association’s Ethanol Award.

Marquis Energy is the largest dry-mill ethanol facility in the world, with a daily production capacity of 1 million gallons. It opened in 2008, and an expansion was completed in 2015.

“Marquis Energy has seen tremendous success in the ethanol industry in Illinois and has been an amazing partner as ICGA seeks to improve the regulatory climate for ethanol production and use,” Carlson says.

Mark Marquis received the award at the meeting. He’s served as a member of the board of managers for the company since co-founding it in 2005. He’s also the CEO and president.

• Environmental Award. Illinois Central College teacher and farmer Pete Fandel was honored by the association with its Environmental Award.

Fandel conducts research and teaches agriculture courses at the ICC campus. Formerly, he was a cover crop specialist for the ICGA Zea Mays Foundation, helping farmers understand how to implement the technique on their farms.

“Pete is committed to helping farmers better understand their farms and their soils, and he shows true dedication to helping us improve the environment we’ve been given,” Carlson says.

Committees
ICGA also appointed these chairmen for committees for 2018-19:
• Exports Committee Chariman Marty Marr, New Berlin, and Vice Chairman Don Guinnip, Marshall
• Industrial Committee Chairman Randy DeSutter, Woodhull, and Vice Chairman Mike Homerding, Plainfield
• Grassroots Committee Chairman Aron Carlson, Winnebago, and Vice Chairman Terry Smith, Clayton