Meet Your Illinois Farm Bureau Board of Directors

Meet Your
Illinois Farm Bureau
Board of Directors...
38
Richard L. Guebert Jr.
President
Illinois Farm Bureau
Richard Guebert Jr., of Ellis Grove, is the 15th president of the Illinois
Farm Bureau® (IFB®) and serves as full-time executive officer. He also is
president of COUNTRY Financial, Illinois Agricultural Service Company, and
the IAA Foundation.
He also serves on the coordinating committee for GROWMARK, Inc.
Prior to his election as president, Guebert served as vice president of the
Illinois Farm Bureau from 2003-2013. As vice president, Guebert also served
as chairman of the COUNTRY/IFB Governance Committee. In 2007, he was
appointed by the IFB president to serve as chairman of a Floodplain Study
Group.
Guebert and his son, Kyle, operate a farm where they grow corn,
soybeans, and wheat.
Guebert served as director of the Lower Kaskaskia Stakeholder, Inc. from
1999 to 2004; director of the Kaskaskia Watershed Association from 2000 to
2004; director of Gateway FS from 1990 to 2008; on the board of directors for
Randolph County Farm Bureau from 1993 to 2003; vice president of Randolph
County Farm Bureau from 1994-1996; and president from 1996 to 2003.
In 2001, he served on the IFB Co-op Task Force and completed the
Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow leadership training. Guebert was named a
Master Farmer in 2006 by Prairie Farmer magazine.
In March 2007, he accompanied Jack Lavin, director, Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the state of Illinois, and other
delegates on a trade mission to India to open a trade office in New Delhi.
In June 2007, he traveled to Poland with then Lt. Governor Pat Quinn on a
four-city cultural exchange and trade mission that developed and enhanced the
relationship between Illinois and Poland. In March 2009, Guebert was part of
the farm/business delegation to Cuba under the direction of Jack Block, former
Secretary of Agriculture. Governor Quinn appointed Guebert to the Taxpayer
Action Board in April 2009 and in 2012 was appointed to the Governor’s
Export Advisory Council. In 2011, Guebert participated in a trade mission to
China with Governor Quinn and several business leaders from across the state.
Guebert has a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education, with a minor
in animal science from Southern Illinois University. Guebert and his wife,
Nancy, reside in Ellis Grove. They are members of St. John’s Lutheran
Church in Chester where Rich has served in many capacities. Rich and Nancy
have two granddaughters, Emma and Ella, daughters of Kyle and his wife
Michelle.
39
David C. Erickson
Vice President
Illinois Farm Bureau
David C. Erickson of Altona was elected in December 2013 as
vice president of the Illinois Farm Bureau. Prior to that, he served
as president of the Knox County Farm Bureau from 2011-2012.
In his capacity as vice president of the Illinois Farm Bureau,
Erickson is also vice president of COUNTRY Financial, Illinois
Agricultural Service Company, and the IAA Foundation. He
serves as Chairman of the IFB Resolutions Committee and serves
on the Coordinating Committee of GROWMARK, Inc. He also
serves on the Country/IAA Governance Committee.
Erickson and his wife, Nancy, operate a farm where they
grow corn and soybeans using no-till practices and site-specific
technology. They have one son, Adam.
Erickson has served as Illinois FFA Secretary-Treasurer,
president of the Illinois Soybean Association, president and
chairman of the board of the American Soybean Association, and
chairman of the Illinois Foundation FFA. He earned the American
FFA Degree and received the state 4-H Alumni Recognition
Award from Illinois 4-H in 2005.
He is a past director of the Oneida Telephone and Cablevision
Companies, the Knox County Zoning Board of Appeals and past
Chairman of the Galesburg Cottage Hospital Board of Trustees.
He also served on the board of directors for Midwest Bank of
Western Illinois, Unit #10 Extension Council, and currently
serves on the Knox County Board. He is an active member of the
Immanuel Lutheran Church of Altona.
Erickson has a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education from
Western Illinois University. He was named a Master Farmer in
2003 by Prairie Farmer magazine and provides advice as a Profit
Planner Panelist for Prairie Farmer magazine.
40
Bob Gehrke
District 1
Bob Gehrke of Elgin in Kane County was elected to the
state board of directors in 2011 to represent District 1, which
includes DeKalb, Lake, Kane and McHenry counties. He serves
on the National Affairs & Marketing Committee, the Agricultural
Leaders of Tomorrow (ALOT) Committee, the Gardner Chair
Policy Advisory Committee and the COUNTRY Trust Bank
Board. Gehrke also serves as the interlocking member on the
board of GROWMARK and the Illinois Specialty Growers
Association.
Gehrke operates farms in Kane and Stephenson counties,
raising corn, soybeans, wheat and hay.
He graduated from Central High School in Burlington in 1976.
Gehrke served on the Kane County Farm Bureau Board from
1994 to 2012. He served as president from 2004 to 2010. He
also served as secretary/treasurer from 1997 to 2004. He was a
member of the 2009 Market Study Tour to China.
He has served as a Conserve FS Director since 2002. Gehrke
is a member of the Kane County Corn Growers Association, the
Illinois Soybean Association and is an associate member of the
Illinois Wheat Association.
Gehrke and his wife, Beth, have two children, Wayne and
Carolyn, who also are involved in the family farm. They are
members of the St. John Lutheran Church in Sycamore. Gehrke
serves as chairman of stewardship and is the vice chairman of the
congregation.
41
Earl Williams Jr.
District 2
Earl Williams Jr. of Cherry Valley in Winnebago County was
elected to the state board of directors in 2014 to represent District
2, which includes Carroll, JoDaviess, Ogle, Stephenson and
Winnebago-Boone counties. He serves on the Member Services &
Public Relations Committee.
Williams operates a farm in Winnebago County, and raises
corn and soybeans.
He served as president of the Winnebago-Boone County
Farm Bureau from 2012 to 2015 and as president of Winnebago
County from 2004 to 2012. He is a 1984 Agricultural Leaders of
Tomorrow (ALOT) graduate.
Williams is a member of the Illinois Corn Growers Association
and the Illinois Soybean Association where he served as president
from 2003 to 2005 and vice president from 2001 to 2003. He also
is a licensed Professional Engineer and a member of the American
Society of Agricultural & Biological Engineers.
Williams graduated from the University of Illinois earning a
master’s degree in agricultural engineering.
Williams and his wife, Arlene, have three children, Emily,
Megan and Lauren.
They attend Christ United Methodist Church in Rockford.
42
Wayne Anderson
District 3
Wayne Anderson of Geneseo in Henry County was elected
to the state board of directors in 2005 to represent District 3,
which includes Henry, Mercer, Rock Island, Stark and Whiteside
counties. He serves on the Finance Committee, the Budget
Committee and the Rural Illinois Medical Student Assistance
Program (RIMSAP) Committee. He also serves as the interlocking
member on the board of the Illinois Corn Growers Association
and on the COUNTRY Trust Bank Board.
Anderson raises corn and soybeans on his farm.
Anderson served as a director on the Henry County Farm
Bureau Board from 1985-1989, as chairman of the marketing
committee in 1989, legislative chairman from 1990-1993,
membership chairman in 1994 and was president of Henry County
Farm Bureau from 1995-2002. He also served as a director on the
Farm Mutual Electric Board in Henry County from 1987-1998
and was vice president from 1993-1998.
He is a past member of the Henry County Pork Producers
Association and is a past member of Illinois Pork Producer’s
Association and the Henry County Livestock Feeders Association.
He is a member of the Illinois Corn Growers Association and
Illinois Soybean Association.
Anderson received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural
mechanization from Western Illinois University in 1977.
Anderson and his wife, Shelley, have three sons and are
members of the Geneseo Evangelical Free Church.
43
Brad Temple
District 4
Brad Temple of Serena in LaSalle County was elected to
the Illinois Farm Bureau board of directors in 2010 to represent
District 4, which includes Bureau, LaSalle and Lee counties.
He serves on the Finance Committee, Audit Committee, Budget
Committee, IAA Grant Committee, IAA Foundation Board of
Trustees and the COUNTRY Trust Bank Board. He also serves on
the Rural Illinois Medical Student Assistance Program (RIMSAP)
Committee, and on the Illinois Veterinary Education and Training
(IVET) Committee.
Temple owns and operates Temple Farms, a grain and
livestock operation.
Temple was a past LaSalle County Farm Bureau president.
He is a member of the Illinois Corn Growers, Illinois Soybean
Association and Montadale Sheep Breeders Association. He
participated in two Farm Bureau market study tours; China
in 2001 and Europe in 2013. Temple previously served on
the Livestock and Dairy GRITs and Farming Production and
Marketing SWAT. He is currently serving on the State Fair
Advisory Board.
He received his associate degree in agriculture production and
management from Joliet Junior College. He is a 1996 graduate of
Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow (ALOT), was the State Young
Leader Discussion Meet Winner in 1996, and won the DuPont
Young Leader Award in 1996.
Temple and his wife, Kara, have two children. They are
members of Serena United Methodist Church.
44
Scott Halpin
District 5
Scott Halpin of Gardner in Grundy County was elected to the state
board of directors of the Illinois Farm Bureau in 2005 to represent
District 5, which includes Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kendall and Will
counties. He is chairman of the Member Services & Public Relations
Committee and serves on the Budget Committee, IAA Grant
Committee, and the IAA and COUNTRY Governance Committees.
He serves as chairman of the Nominating & Principal Officers
Committees of the Governance Committee. He also serves on the
COUNTRY Trust Bank Board and is the interlocking member on the
board of the Illinois Milk Producers Association. In 2011, Halpin was
appointed to the Governor’s Local Food and Farms Job Council. He is
chairman of Food for Thought Regional Advertising Committee.
Halpin raises corn, soybeans and alfalfa on a fourth-generation
farm with his father and brother. They operate a Holstein dairy and
embryo transplant business, and custom silage bagging. They also
have a beef cow-calf herd.
He served on the Young Leaders Committee from 2001-2005 and
served as chairman from 2003-2005. He also is Grundy County’s Ag
in the Classroom host for dairy lessons and farm tours.
Halpin served on Grundy County’s Soil and Water Conservation
Board from 1999-2003, and was chairman from 2001-2003 and
vice chairman from 2003-2005. He also is a member of the Heart of
Illinois Holstein Club and past board member of the Illinois Holstein
Association. He is a member of the Illinois Beef Association and the
Illinois Corn Growers Association.
Halpin, and his wife, Sarah, have three children, Ty, Grace and
Cale. Sarah is a 4-H leader and also volunteers as the assistant girls
basketball coach. Halpin is a Little League coach. Sarah was elected
to the South Wilmington Elementary School Board. Their children
enjoy showing beef, dairy and pork in 4-H and the county fair.
45
Randy Poskin
District 6
Randy Poskin of Ashkum in Iroquois County was elected
to the Illinois Farm Bureau board of directors in December
2010 to represent District 6, which includes Ford-Iroquois,
Kankakee and Livingston counties. Poskin serves on the Illinois
Government Committee, COUNTRY Trust Bank Board, and
on the IAA and COUNTRY Governance Committees. He serves
on the Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow (ALOT) Committee,
the ACTIVATOR Executive Committee and also serves as
the interlocking member on the board of the Illinois Soybean
Association.
Poskin operates a grain farm.
Poskin served as president of the Ford-Iroquois County
Farm Bureaus from 2001 to 2011. He also served as resolutions
subcommittee chairman in 2002 and 2010 and as vice chairman
in 2007. He serves on the TriCentral Co-op board of directors
and on the Danforth-Ashkum #2 drainage district.
He received an associate degree from Kankakee Community
College and his bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the
University of Illinois in 1977.
Poskin, and his wife, Mona, have two children. They are
members of the Assumption BVM Catholic Church.
46
David Meiss
District 7
David Meiss of Gridley in McLean County was elected to
the Illinois Farm Bureau board of directors in 2009 to represent
District 7, which includes Marshall-Putnam, McLean, Tazewell
and Woodford counties. Meiss serves on the Illinois Government
Committee, the COUNTRY Trust Bank Board, and the IAA and
COUNTRY Governance Committees. He is the Chairman of
the IAA and COUNTRY Audit Committees and serves on the
ACTIVATOR Executive Committee. He also is the interlocking
member on the U.S. Meat Export Federation and serves as the
board’s liaison to the Illinois Pork Producers Association.
Meiss produces corn, soybeans, wheat and specialty crops on
his farm. He was a pork producer for 30 years.
He served as vice president of the McLean County Farm
Bureau Board from 2007 to 2010. He also served on the McLean
County Governmental Affairs Committee for 12 years and as the
chairman from 2007 to 2010.
Meiss graduated from Gridley High School in 1978. He served
on the Gridley School Board for seven years and has been a
Gridley Township Trustee for 13 years. He currently serves on his
church’s advisory council.
He is a member of the Illinois Soybean Association,
Illinois Corn Growers Association and Illinois Pork Producers
Association.
Meiss and his wife, Debbie, have three children, Derek
(Sarah), Jordan (Miranda), and Chloe, and three grandchildren.
They attend Christ Community Church in Gridley.
47
David Serven
District 8
David Serven of St. Augustine in Knox County was elected to
the Illinois Farm Bureau board of directors in 2010 to represent
District 8, which includes Fulton, Knox, Peoria and WarrenHenderson counties. Serven serves on the National Affairs &
Marketing Committee as a trustee and treasurer on the IAA
Foundation Board of Trustees and on the COUNTRY Trust Bank
Board. He also serves on the Illinois Veterinary Education and
Training (IVET) Committee and is the interlocking member on
the board of Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc.
Serven operates a diversified grain operation, and raises corn,
soybeans and hay. He and his family milked cows until 2009.
Serven served on the Knox County Farm Bureau Board from
1996-2006 and was vice president in 2000 and president from
2001-2006. He participated in a Farm Bureau market study tour of
China in 2001 and of Cuba in 2012.
He has represented District 5 on the Knox County Board.
Serven is a past director for Tompkin State Bank in Avon and for
Riverland FS.
Currently, he is president of the Abingdon-Avon district
#276 school board. Serven is a member of both the Illinois Corn
Growers and Soybean Associations.
Serven received his bachelor’s degree in agriculture
production at Illinois State University. He is a graduate of
Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow (ALOT) and of the Illinois
Ag Leadership Program. He also was the state Young Leader
Achievement award winner in 2002 and received the American
Farmer Degree from FFA.
Serven and his wife, Barb, have two sons and a daughter. His
family are members of the St. Augustine Catholic Church.
48
Gary Speckhart
District 9
Gary Speckhart of Quincy in Adams County was elected to
the Illinois Farm Bureau board of directors in 2013 to represent
District 9, which includes Adams, Brown, Hancock, McDonough,
Pike and Schuyler counties. Speckhart serves on the Member
Services & Public Relations Committee and the Rural Illinois
Medical Student Assistance Program (RIMSAP) Committee. He
is the interlocking member for the Illinois Council on Food and
Agricultural Research (C-FAR).
Speckhart and his wife, Rita, raise corn, soybeans and grapes
on their farm.
He served as president of the Adams County Farm Bureau
from 1999-2001 and vice president from 1994-1998. He is a
graduate of the Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow (ALOT)
program and the Illinois Ag Leadership Program. He also is a
member of the Illinois Corn Growers Association and the Illinois
Soybean Association. Speckhart is a past board member of the
Payson-Seymore School District, a past trustee of the Fall Creek
Payson Fire Protection District and the Fall Creek Township.
From 2006-2013, he was a loan officer at Central State Bank. He
currently serves as a Prairieland FS director.
Speckhart received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business
from Western Illinois University. He served 12 years as a trustee
of John Wood Community College and two terms as treasurer of
the Illinois Community College Trustees Association.
Speckhart and his wife have four children, Aaron, Somer,
Rhiannon and Alese. They attend Bluff Hall Church in Payson.
49
Dale Hadden
District 10
Dale Hadden of Jacksonville in Morgan County was elected
to the board of directors in 2006 to represent District 10, which
includes Cass-Morgan, Logan, Mason, Menard, Sangamon and
Scott counties. He is the chairman of the Illinois Government
Committee, the chairman of ACTIVATOR Executive Committee
and serves on the Budget Committee, the Gardner Chair Policy
Advisory Committee and on the COUNTRY Trust Bank Board.
He is the interlocking member for the Illinois Grain Insurance
Corporation and the Nutrient Research Education Council.
Hadden, along with his parents and brother, runs a cash grain
operation growing corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa, and is a beef
producer. He also is a Pioneer Hi-Bred seed dealer and sells Palco
and Apache cattle equipment.
Hadden served on the Cass-Morgan Farm Bureau Board from
1995 to 2006 and as president from 2001 to 2005. He is a member
of the Illinois Corn Growers Association, the Illinois Soybean
Association, the Illinois Wheat Association and the Illinois Beef
Association.
Hadden is a member of the College of Agricultural, Consumer
and Environmental Sciences (ACES) Advisory Committee for
the University of Illinois. He is president of the Jacksonville
area baseball league, and he coaches baseball, softball and youth
football.
Hadden has a bachelor’s degree in agriculture marketing and
farm management from the University of Illinois and is a 1994 Ag
Leadership Foundation graduate.
Hadden and his wife, Amy, have two children, Blake
and Paige. They are members of Salem Lutheran Church in
Jacksonville.
50
Dennis Hughes
District 11
Dennis Hughes of Decatur in Macon County was elected to
the state board of directors in 2013 to represent District 11, which
includes Christian, DeWitt, Macon, Moultrie, Piatt and Shelby
counties. He serves on the Member Services & Public Relations
Committee.
After 33 years managing his corn and soybean farm, Hughes
retired in 2007. He is currently an employee of B & B Farms, a
corn-soybean farm near Decatur.
Hughes served as president of the Macon County Farm
Bureau from 1988-1994 and served more than 20 years as
an ACTIVATOR trustee for Congressional Districts 13 and
18. Hughes was past chairman of the Association of Illinois
Agriculture Associations (The Partnership). He was a member
of the 2002 IFB Market Study Tour to Argentina and Brazil. He
is a current member of the Macon County Farm Bureau Board of
Directors and is a member of the Macon County Zoning Board of
Appeals.
Hughes received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business
from Illinois State University in 1988 and a minor in economics.
He is a graduate of Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow (ALOT).
He and his wife, Betty, have three sons, Christopher, Eric and
Jonathan. Hughes is serving as pastor of the Illini Congregational
United Church of Christ in Warrensburg.
51
Chris Hausman
District 12
Chris Hausman of Pesotum in Champaign County was elected
to the state board of directors in 2006 to represent District 12, which
includes Champaign, Douglas, Edgar and Vermilion counties. He
is chairman of the National Affairs and Marketing Committee,
and serves on the Audit Committee, the Budget Committee and on
the Gardner Chair Policy Advisory Committee. He also serves on
the COUNTRY Trust Bank Board and the IAA and COUNTRY
Governance Committees, and is the interlocking member on the
Council for Best Management Practices.
Hausman, and his wife, Evonne, operate a grain farm, producing
corn and soybeans.
Hausman served on the Champaign County Farm Bureau Board
from 1994 to 2000 and was president from 2003-2006. He served
as a state director for the Illinois Farm Bureau Farm Management
Association and was a member on the Technology Issues Advisory
Group. He also served on the American Farm Bureau Federation
Feedgrains Advisory Committee and numerous GRITs teams. He was
a member of the IFB Market Study Tour to New Zealand in 2006 and
to Germany in 2015.
He serves on the Operating Board of Illini FS; as commissioner
for the Pesotum Consolidated Drainage District an Advisory Board
member on the Illinois Association of Drainage Districts; as trustee
for the Pesotum Fire Protection District and St. Joseph’s Cemetery in
Pesotum; and is the former Pesotum Township Supervisor. Hausman
is a member of the Illinois Soybean Association and the Illinois Corn
Growers Association. He serves on the University of Illinois Research
and Farm.doc Website Advisory Committees within the College of
Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES).
Hausman received a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education
from the University of Illinois and is a 2005 Agricultural Leaders of
Tomorrow (ALOT) graduate.
Hausman and his wife have three sons, Matthew, Timothy
(Jennifer), and Nicholas and a grandson, Archer. He is a member of
St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Pesotum.
52
Dennis Green
District 13
Dennis Green of Lawrenceville in Lawrence County was
elected to the state board of directors in 2011 to represent District
13, which includes Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Jasper,
Lawrence and Richland counties. He serves on the Illinois
Government Committee, the ACTIVATOR Executive Committee
and on the Audit Committee. He also serves on the COUNTRY
Trust Bank Board, the IAA Foundation Board of Trustees, is the
interlocking member on the Illinois Wheat Association Board and
represents IFB on the Illinois Coal Association Board.
Green operates a grain farm, producing corn and soybeans.
He served on the Lawrence County Farm Bureau Board from
1976 to 1992 and from 2002 to the present. He served as president
from 1981 to 1988 and from 2009 to 2011. Green is a member
of the Illinois Soybean Association, the Illinois Corn Growers
Association and the Illinois Wheat Association.
Green served on the Lawrence County Unit 20 School Board
from 1989 to 2007 and was president for 10 years.
Green received an associate degree in science from Vincennes
University in 1972 and a bachelor’s degree in agriculture
economics from the University of Illinois in 1974.
Green and his wife, Debbie, have three grown children,
Jonathan, Sara and Jason, and six grandchildren. They are
members of Pleasant Ridge Christian Church.
53
Steve Hosselton
District 14
Steve Hosselton of Louisville in Clay County was elected to
the Illinois Farm Bureau board of directors in 2008 to represent
District 14, which includes Clay, Effingham, Fayette, Marion
and Montgomery counties. Hosselton serves on the Finance
Committee, the IAA Grant Committee, the Budget Committee and
the COUNTRY Trust Bank Board. He also serves on the IAA and
COUNTRY Governance Committees, is the interlocking member
on the U.S. Grains Council and represents IFB on the Illinois Coal
Association Board. In 2011, he was appointed to the Governor’s
Rural Affairs Council.
Hosselton operates a cash grain farm, raising corn and
soybeans.
He graduated from North Clay High School and attended
Millikin University. He is a 1990 Agricultural Leaders of
Tomorrow (ALOT) graduate.
Hosselton has served on the Clay County board of directors
since 1987, was vice president from 1989 to 1991, president from
1991 to 1998 and again from 2004 to 2009. He served as director
on the board of the Effingham-Clay Service Co. from 1994 to
1997 and from 2007 to 2011 and served on the South Central
Service Co. from 2011 to the present. He served four times on
the Resolutions Committee, once as subcommittee chair. He also
served on the Policy 2000 Committee and on GRITS teams.
Hosselton chaired the Ad Hoc 911 Committee for Clay County
in 1992.
He and his wife, Chris, have a daughter, Kylie and a son,
Steven, and seven grandchildren. They are members of the Bethel
Christian Church in Louisville.
54
Chad Schutz
District 15
Chad Schutz of White Hall in Greene County was elected to
the Illinois Farm Bureau Board of Directors in 2009 to represent
District 15, which includes Bond, Calhoun, Greene, Jersey,
Macoupin and Madison counties. He serves on the National
Affairs & Marketing Committee, the Illinois Veterinary Education
and Training (IVET) Committee and as a trustee and secretary
on the IAA Foundation Board of Trustees. He also serves on the
ACTIVATOR Executive Committee, the IAA and COUNTRY
Governance Committees and the COUNTRY Trust Bank
Board. He is the interlocking member for the Illinois Livestock
Development Group and the Illinois Ag in the Classroom
(Program Council) and serves as the board’s liaison for the Illinois
Beef Association.
With several family members, Schutz operates Schutz Farms
Inc., which produces corn and soybeans and finishes hogs and
cattle. Schutz manages beef operations on the farm.
Prior to being elected to the IFB Board, Schutz served as
president of Greene County Farm Bureau for four years and as
vice-president for two years. He is a 2009 Agricultural Leaders
of Tomorrow (ALOT) graduate. In 2003 and 2010, he traveled to
Washington, D.C., with IFB’s Marketers to Washington.
Schutz is a member of the Illinois Beef Association,
Illinois Walking Horse Association and Illinois Corn Growers
Association.
Schutz and his wife, Stacy, have two children, Lana and
Bridget. They are members of the Christ United Methodist
Church.
55
Steve Stallman
District 16
Steve Stallman of Chester in Randolph County was elected to
the Illinois Farm Bureau board of directors in 2014 to represent
District 16, which includes Clinton, Monroe, Perry, Randolph, St.
Clair and Washington counties. Stallman serves on the Illinois
Government Committee.
Stallman operates a farm raising corn, soybeans and wheat and
also has a small beef herd.
Stallman served as president of the Randolph County Farm
Bureau from 1989 to 1992. He served as president of the Illinois
Wheat Association from 1999 to 2002 and from 2011 to 2014.
He is a member of the Illinois Corn Growers Association and the
Illinois Soybean Association.
Stallman graduated from Chester High School in 1970.
Stallman and his wife, Jane, have four children, Wesley, Amie,
Lindsey and Joe. They attend the St. John Lutheran Church in
Chester.
56
J. Larry Miller
District 17
J. Larry Miller of Thompsonville in Franklin County was
elected to the state board of directors in 2013 to represent District
17, which includes Edwards, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson,
Wabash, Wayne and White counties. He serves on the National
Affairs & Marketing Committee and represents IFB on the
Illinois Coal Association Board. He also serves as the interlocking
member on the IDNR Oil & Gas Advisory Board.
Miller and his wife, Kaye, operate a corn, soybean, wheat and
beef cow farm with their son, Jerry.
He serves on the Franklin County Economic Development
Council and is secretary-treasurer of his local property rights
association.
Miller received his bachelor’s degree in agriculture education
at Southern Illinois University in 1972. He is an Agriculture
Leaders of Tomorrow (ALOT) graduate.
Miller and his wife have three children, Jerry, Jeff and Jenny.
They are members of the Immanuel Baptist Church in Franklin
County.
57
Kenton Thomas
District 18
Kenton Thomas of Thebes in Alexander County was elected
to the Illinois Farm Bureau board of directors in 2014 to represent
District 18, which includes Gallatin, Hardin, Jackson, Johnson,
Massac, Pope, Pulaski-Alexander, Saline, Union and Williamson
counties. He serves on the Member Services & Public Relations
Committee.
Thomas operates an 1,800-acre farm and raises corn, soybeans
and wheat.
Thomas served as vice president of the Pulaski-Alexander
County Farm Bureau from 2002 to 2004 and has served as
president of Pulaski-Alexander County Farm Bureau from 2004 to
December 2014.
He is on the Pulaski-Alexander Facilities Board and has been a
representative for the Lyin Small Levy District.
Thomas is a member of the Illinois Soybean Association and
the IAA Political Leadership Cabinet. He is also on the DTN
Farmer Advisory Board.
Thomas graduated from Camelot High School in 1975.
He was a journeyman wireman from 1978 to 2010 with the
International Brotherhood of Electrical workers and completed his
apprenticeship in 1982.
He and his wife, Paula, have two children, Adam and Ivan.
They attend Cape First Church in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
58
Matt Rush
Chairman
Young Leader Committee
Matt Rush of Fairfield in Wayne County was elected chairman
of the Illinois Farm Bureau State Young Leader Committee in
December of 2014. He serves as an advisory member to the IFB
Board of Directors.
Rush is a fourth-generation farmer who raises, corn, soybeans,
wheat and cattle along with his father.
He joined the IFB Young Leaders in 2003, and served as the
Young Leader Committee Chairman in Wayne County from 2008
to 2012. Rush is a 2008 graduate of the Agriculture Leaders of
Tomorrow (ALOT) program.
Rush received a bachelor’s degree in agriculture education
with a minor in agriculture economics from Southern Illinois
University-Carbondale in 2006. Upon graduation, he worked
for the University of Illinois Extension as the 4-H program
coordinator in Wayne County until 2014, when he returned
fulltime to the family farm.
He is a member of the Wayne County 4-H Foundation, the
Fairfield Memorial Hospital Foundation, and serves as a volunteer
firefighter.
Rush and his wife, Sarah, have two children, Jacob and Lucy.
They are members of First Baptist Church of Fairfield.
59
Teresa L. Steckler
President
Illinois Extension
Agricultural Association
Teresa L. Steckler has been with the University of Illinois
Extension for more than eight years. Prior to becoming president
of the Illinois Extension Agricultural Association, she served as an
Extension educator, animal systems/beef, providing educational
leadership for the enhancement of progress and development in the
livestock industry in Illinois; predominantly Southern Illinois. She
serves as an advisory member to the IFB Board of Directors.
Steckler currently serves as an Extension educator, commercial
agriculture with an emphasis in livestock. Although she has
statewide responsibilities, her office is located at the Dixon Springs
Agricultural Center.
Steckler earned a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate of
philosophy degrees in animal science from the University of Illinois.
She also held a postdoctoral position at the University of Michigan
where she achieved excellence in research. Her area of expertise is
reproductive physiology in ruminants with an emphasis on infertility
and the effects of fetal exposure to steroids on adult reproductive
efficiency.
Steckler serves an advisory role on numerous committees
throughout the state, including the Illinois Beef Association,
State Fair Livestock Advisory Committee, Ewing Field Advisory
Committee and the Illinois Performance Test Bull Sale Advisory
Committee. She is a member of American Society of Animal
Science (ASAS), the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA),
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and
National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA).
Her professional awards include a National Institute of Health
Environmental Toxicology Research Training Fellowship, a grant
from the North Central Risk Management Education Council and an
NACAA Achievement Award. In addition to her professional awards,
Steckler has published 14 peer-reviewed articles on her research.
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