At its 2022 Conference and Expo in San Diego, Calif., on Nov. 29-Dec. 1, the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) presented several awards and honors.
Winner of the 2022 Jack Eberspacher Lifetime Achievement Award was Tim McArdle for his work with Brandt Co. and ResponsibleAg. This year’s Distinguished Service Award went to Gary Vogen, Vice President of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs at Yara North America.
The Retailer of the Year Award went to Marion Ag Service Inc., Saint Paul, Ore., and was accepted by Marion Ag Service Executive Vice President Tom Wimmer. The 2022 AGCO Operator of the Year winner was Pat Hoefling of Nutrien Ag Solutions, Odebolt, Iowa. The first ever Scoop Business Innovation Award, presented by EFC Systems and Farm Journal, went to Ceres Solutions Crops 63, Perryville, Ind.
ARA also used the conference venue to recognize a group of emerging ag retail leaders as part of its Rising Stars professional development program, sponsored by Atticus. This year’s members include Jessica Alderson, ADM Fertilizer; Loren Babe, GROWERS; Luke DeGroot, GAR Bennett; Brett Dible, Pathway Ag LLC; Zachary Emmendorfer, River Bend Ag LLC; Amanda Ganes, Novus Ag LLC; Lena Head, AgVend; Jessi Hintz, GROWMARK; Edgard Jauregui, Heliae® Agriculture; Alex Johnson, Novus Ag LLC; Greg Kamienski, Grow West; Matt Kirby, Nutrien Ag Solutions; William Lunt, Precision Tank; Adam McIntyre, MFA Inc.; Allison Mockler, Agtegra Cooperative; Aubrey Overcash, Southern States Cooperative; Nick Patterson, Tri County Ag LLC; Mitchell Perigo, CDMS/Proagrica; Joseph Rasnic, AgSyn LLC; Chelsea Rodriguez, International Raw Materials Ltd; Brett Schmitz, Grow West; Lauren Taylor, Co-Alliance Cooperative; Ben Westendorf, GROWERS; and Jason Worthington, MFA Inc.