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2010 Annual Meeting
Highlights
from the 2010 Annual Meeting
[Click here for Meeting Minutes]
Wisconsin Agribusiness Council Annual Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
Oshkosh, WI
Prior to the meeting a Tour of the Rosendale Dairy, Pickett, WI was held starting at 8:30 a.m. The tour was excellent and provided an outstanding example of today’s larger farming operations.
WAC President/CEO, Ferron Havens, welcomed attendees at 10:10 a.m. He thanked everyone for coming and introduced Chairman Mike Miller to begin the annual business meeting.
Chairman Miller, called the annual meeting of the Wisconsin Agribusiness Council to order at 10:15 p.m. He welcomed all attendees and then introduced the Secretary of Commerce, Richard Leinenkugel. The Secretary’s comments highlighted the many accomplishments of the various ag industry sectors in Wisconsin and how they all interconnect with the rest of the business industries in the state. He also commented on the importance of the agricultural industry and the services that the Commerce Dept. offered to keep it growing. Chairmen Miller thanked the Secretary for his excellent comments and then directed the attendees to their folders to follow along with the agenda and business items to be discussed. He then commented on the state of the Council indicating that the overlap between the Council and the Foundation is very important and that the work that we do in educating young people and recruiting future employees is critical. The ag industry will be losing a lot of experience in the next 5-10 years and there will be a tremendous shortage of qualified candidates to fill those jobs. The Council and Foundation are very involved in providing the materials to educate the public about agriculture and to make students aware of the career opportunities that are available to them in our industries, but we need money to keep doing what we do well. That money can come from membership dues, sponsorships of educational programs and donations to the auctions. Chairman Miller encouraged everyone to stay involved. He then introduced the staff and board of directors and turned the meeting over to Chairman-elect Guzek.
WAC Chairman-elect, Tim Guzek directed everyone’s attention to the minutes of the 2009 Annual Meeting and moved to accept the minutes as presented. RICHTER/VORPAHL moved/seconded to approve the minutes. MOTION CARRIED.
Chairman-elect Guzek gave the 2009 preliminary financial report. The Council survived a very difficult year due to the economy with a decrease in both membership and auction monies raised. Havens commented that many non-profit organizations were in the same situation as we were with some much worse, but he was optimistic that the financial situation will improve in 2010 and 2011. SCHIENEBECK/KUEHL moved/seconded to approve the 2009 financials as presented. MOTION CARRIED. It was noted that the report is “preliminary” as it has not yet been audited, which will be available later this spring.
Chairman-elect Guzek presented the 2010 proposed budget, stating that this budget was designed to be conservative while still meeting the needs of our members and our programs. Guzek commented on the changes to staffing which resulted in an overall reduction in staffing costs. In addition, increased funds were allocated for contracted hire to be used as needed. SHEPEL/KUEHL moved/seconded to approve the budget as presented. MOTION CARRIED.
The legislative update was presented by Ferron Havens and George Klaetsch of Klaetsch Public Affairs Strategies, LLC, who serves as WAC’s contracted lobbyist. Klaetsch reviewed all of the pending legislation and the current status of the bills affecting agriculture. Havens commented that due to Klaetsch’s lobby experience, WAC now has a much stronger presence at the Capitol. Havens/Klaetsch both commented on the value of members staying involved in the legislative process, including the financial support of candidate re-election campaigns.
Chairman Miller turned the program over to JoAnn Maedke, Legislative Chair, who reviewed the 2010 Legislative Policy section by section. Several wording changes were made in the following sections: Dairy, Education, Energy, Environment & Natural Resources, Taxation, Technology, and Transportation. It was moved/seconded by FITZGIBBONS/SHEPEL to approve the entire Legislative Policy as modified. MOTION CARRIED.
Chairman Miller reviewed the Bylaws and the suggestions for change as printed in the DRAFT that was presented. GUZEK/RICHTER moved/seconded to approve the Bylaws as presented. MOTION CARRIED 15-0.
Chairman Miller then reviewed Board members whose terms were up – they were: Nick Schneider, Merle Richter, Kerry Larson. Miller thanked them for their years of service. Chairman Miller stated that Merle Richter and Kerry Larson had agreed to serve a second term. The executive officers for the upcoming year were outlined as Mike Miller, Chairman; Tim Guzek, Chairman-Elect; and Pat Fitzgibbons, Secretary/Treasurer. Chairman Miller stated that we have two positions to fill and asked for any nominations from the floor. As there were no nominations from the floor, these positions will be filled during the year and approved at upcoming Board meetings with special notice provided. SCHIENEBECK/TREML moved/seconded to approve the nomination report. MOTION CARRIED.
VORPAHL/FITZGIBBONS moved/seconded to adjourn the WAC Annual Meeting. MOTION CARRIED.
Chairman Mike Miller (filling in for WAF Chairman, Frank Friar) called to order the annual meeting of the Wisconsin Agribusiness Foundation. He noted that the minutes of the 2009 annual meeting were incorporated into the previously approved WAC minutes. He then introduced the board members.
Havens reviewed the Foundation’s activities and noted that the educational materials are still highly anticipated and used by educators throughout Wisconsin. The Career brochure was completed and 16,000 copies were distributed for the 2009/2010 school year to middle school and high school students. To date the sponsors include Badgerland Financial, Kraft Foods, Lentz Fertilizer, and Pioneer. Additional sponsors are being sought to revise and expand the booklet and print 25,000 copies for 2010/2011. Havens also commented on the fact that many companies who may be hesitant to pay membership dues are still willing to donate to support these educational programs. Havens also noted that we had a fairly substantial increase in both the number of sponsors and the money contributed for these programs in 2009.
Chairman-elect Guzek highlighted the 2009 preliminary financial report, which showed the Foundation was able to stay within budget and end the year with a positive $7,017.38 net result. KUEHL/FICK moved/seconded to accept this report as presented. MOTION CARRIED.
Chairman-elect Guzek presented the 2010 proposed budget of the Foundation. We are using a spreadsheet to help delineate operation, labor and material costs for each project and this will help better determine a more accurate overall cost of the Foundation and its projects. MCCORMICK/SCHIENEBECK moved/seconded to accept this report as presented. MOTION CARRIED.
Chairman Miller presented the Foundation Board of Directors and noted that there were no changes for 2010. No nominations came forth at the meeting.
Chairman Miller reviewed the Foundation Bylaws and the suggestions for change as printed in the DRAFT that was presented. SHEPEL/VORPAHL moved/seconded to approve the Bylaws as presented. MOTION CARRIED 17-0.
FICK/VORPAHL moved/seconded to adjourn the WAF Annual Meeting. MOTION CARRIED.
Chairman Miller called to order the annual meeting of the Agri-Action Wisconsin Inc. The minutes of the 2009 annual meeting are incorporated with the WAC minutes previously approved. There has been no financial activity. It was explained that this entity, although inactive at this time, is kept current for future use. Per the by-laws, the AAW Board is the same as the WAC Board and is therefore previously elected. GUZEK/MEYER moved/seconded to adjourn the AAW Annual Meeting. MOTION CARRIED.
Ferron Havens gave comments on the state of the Council and Foundation highlighting the past year’s accomplishments.
Chairman Miller thanked Havens for his efforts this past year and thanked everyone for attending the annual meeting
Respectfully submitted,
Ferron Havens, President/CEO
Wisconsin Agribusiness Council
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