This fall’s Calcot Limited cotton marketing cooperative annual meeting was one for the record books as the organization elected new chairman Greg Wuertz, paid higher to top prices to members, and selected the first female director in the association’s 87-year history.

Four-year Chairman Ron Rayner passed the gavel to incoming Chair Greg Wuertz of Coolidge, Ariz. Tiffany Turner of Gila Farms in Sacaton, Ariz. became the first woman elected as a director to the Calcot board.

Rayner thanked the crowd for allowing him to serve as the co-op’s leader. He will remain on the board as the immediate past chairman to provide input on cotton policy issues.

In his Calcot analysis, Rayner called the co-op financially strong, in part due to the co-op’s focus in recent years on key business goals, including cost reductions, mostly through staff retirements and attrition to more closely match the reduced volume Calcot has faced in recent years.

Other goals include increasing Calcot’s cotton marketing volume, improving the co-op’s capital position by reducing the marketing cost per bale, and divesting unused warehouses to increase capital.

Enjoy the photos of the people and faces at this year's Calcot annual.