Checking Out the Cup

Thanks to GROWMARK FS's Jenny Zeszutek for sharing this story and photo.

A lucky location allowed two GROWMARK FS, LLC employees an opportunity to check out the Stanley Cup, hockey's top prize.

The GROWMARK FS facility in Eighty Four, Penn. sits next door to Eighty Four Lumber Company, who is a sponsor of the Cup. One day, drivers Gary Winkleblech and Donald Rush noticed a crowd of people in Pittsburgh Penguins clothing lined up at Eighty Four Lumber.

"I thought they must have either a player or the Cup inside, so we went over to check it out," Winkleblech said.

His hunch was right. The Stanley Cup was on display, and a photographer asked the men if they'd like their photo taken with it. They agreed.

"Later, we found out the event was supposed to be for Eighty Four Lumber's employees - we were 'Cup crashers!'" Winkleblech said. "But a friend of mine over there made sure we got a copy of the photo."

The Penguins are reigning Stanley Cup champions.

GROWMARK FS drivers Donald Rush (left) and Gary Winkleblech pose with hockey's Stanley Cup.

An Extremely Good Cause

When the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition rolled into Lena, Ill. this September, Stephenson Service Company had a hand in making the Stott family’s new home a reality.

After learning the popular show would be tearing down and rebuilding a local family’s home, Gordy Williams, energy marketing manager, contacted Hasken Construction to see what the cooperative could do to help.

“We offered to donate an LP-gas tank and fuel, and within an hour they had called back accepting the offer,” he said.

Williams, Larry Hanson, Certified Propane Specialist, and LP technicians Rodney Randecker and Eric Meyer installed a 500 gallon underground tank in several hours during the 106-hour round-the-clock building project. The family’s new home is heated with a geothermal system, but several appliances are propane-powered.

Stephenson Service Company played other roles during the project as well. FAST STOP manager Roxanne Schultz and product manager Sheila Tehaar delivered coffee, donuts, and cookies each morning to the thousands of volunteers and spectators at the site. Keith Beightol, building foreman, volunteered his construction skills.

The episode will air Sunday, November 15 at 7:00 p.m. central time on ABC.

“This helped a family in need in our community, and being part of this community we were glad to be able to help out,” Williams said. “It was a gift of kindness.”

Visit Hasken Construction’s website at http://www.extremehaskenconstruction.com/ for photos and more information about the build.

Pictured with the Stott family's new home are Stephenson Service Company employees (left to right): Larry Hanson, Certified Propane Specialist; Rodney Randecker, LP technician; Eric Meyer, LP technician; and Gordy Williams, energy marketing manager.

Ontario's School Buses Run Cleaner Thanks to FS PARTNERS

This article and photo are courtesy of Janice Johnson, GROWMARK Ontario Region marketing and communications specialist.


After 14 months of negotiation, FS PARTNERS closed a deal with Student Transportation of Canada (STC) to provide more than 1,200 school buses with cleaner-burning biodiesel fuel.

Student Transportation of Canada began its transition to biodiesel with FS PARTNERS in 2008 with Simcoe Coach Lines in Sutton and Parkview Transit in Caledon.

“Since then, we have been supplying the school bus fleets with high quality biodiesel blends through GROWMARK's distribution channels and expertise,” said Andrew Troyer, FS PARTNERS director of energy. “Biodiesel is a fairly new product to most, but to GROWMARK, biofuels have been a major component of the Energy Division for more than ten years. I guess you could say we are veterans of a new product!”

Over the past two years, STC has continued to expand its cleaner fuel program throughout Ontario. Tom O’Neill, FS PARTNERS energy sales manager, said that being involved with STC at the beginning of its push to convert to bio-blended fuels gave FS PARTNERS the opportunity to get in from the ground up.

“What put us ahead of the competition is that we not only provide a quality product, but we also offer flexible services and are available to fuel up anytime of the day or night,” he added.

Established in 1997, Student Transportation of Canada is the fourth largest provider of school bus transportation services in North America and currently operates 6,300 school vehicles in North America.

This new account with FS PARTNERS will amount to sales of approximately 5.8 million litres (1.5 million gallons) delivered each year, resulting in countless reduced emissions. It represents a changing mindset and commitment to renewable fuels.

FS PARTNERS Energy Division works with Student Transportation of Canada in supplying biofuels to its school bus fleets in Ontario. From left to right: Ken Gill, Student Transportation of Canada Inc. (STC) regional maintenance manager, Chris Harwood, STC senior vice president – Canadian Operations, Andrew Troyer, FS PARTNERS director of energy, Tom O'Neill, FS PARTNERS energy sales manager.

Blast from the Past

Luis Roig worked for GROWMARK for several months in 2004, learning about our business after we became involved with maltaCleyton. Recently, Brigette Harlan, renewable fuels product manager, reconnected with Luis and recommended sharing some information about what he’s done since his time with us.

When did you leave GROWMARK?

I left GROWMARK in July of 2004. I spent 4 months with the marketing department so I could learn about the FS System and what GROWMARK does; also, I helped with some projects (Annual Meeting and Marketing Conference)

What did you do after you left?

After I left GROWMARK I joined maltaCleyton as a trainee in the marketing department. What are you doing today? After 3 years working at maltaCleyton Mexico, I have been transferred for 3 years to maltaCleyton Brazil as a brand manager, taking care of the marketing department, learning the Brazilian market, developing and researching new products to complete our portfolio, and creating a pet food line to generate value for our business in Brazil.

How did your time at GROWMARK help you in your career path?

It helped me a lot to learn about agribusiness, which has a straight relationship with animal nutrition. I also learned from the people at GROWMARK, who taught and explained how things work in each department. Everyone I met in GROWMARK helped me to be a better person.

Any personal (family) updates you’d like to share?

I was married to a beautiful Mexican girl. She is a doctor and we having a great experience, living in another country together.

Anything else GROWMARK employees would find interesting?

What I remember most about my time in GROWMARK was that everyone treated me very well and I am very happy to have had that experience. I want to give special thanks to Bill Davisson for letting me be part of GROWMARK for that great 4 months. I remember our tennis matches! I also remember when I invited the people to stop by the marketing department to eat some Mexican candies for the 5th of May.

Thanks to everyone who invited me to Biaggi’s, it was very good. I’m still a Cubs fan, and if you want to see me again, watch the movie Clear and Present Danger with Harrison Ford. I play the son of a drug dealer.

I would be very pleased to have another experience with GROWMARK in the future.

Living United

Congratulations to the GROWMARK second floor for raising the most money per person of all divisions in the Illinois Farm Bureau Family of Companies in the 2009 United Way campaign!

Committee members planned a variety of activities, including a "Who's that Baby" photo contest, bake sale, luncheon, and a raffle with other GROWMARK divisions.

Committee members were (left to right): Brian Gulso, business analyst; Dawn Garner, safety and environmental services administrative assistant; Lindsay Otten, safety and environmental services coordinator; and Angie Ciulla, fuel processing specialist II. Not pictured: Joella Bohannon, accounts receivable specialist.

AGRIS Co-operative Gets Their Sea Legs

This article was submitted by Janice Johnson, Ontario communication specialist and Terry Stevenson, AGRIS Co-operative communications manager.

On Friday, September 11, a group of 21 AGRIS Co-operative sales representatives and guests boarded the HMCS Ville de Quebec Canadian Navy frigate that has served in the Canadian Forces since 1993.

The experience was made possible by AGRIS Co-operative agronomy specialist Chuck Belanger who served as a Petty Officer (2nd Class) with the Canadian Forces.

It was through Belanger’s reconnection with an old navy buddy, Mario Couture, the ship’s underwater warfare director, that the AGRIS Co-operative sales team was able to have this unique experience.

“This is not your ordinary venue for a team-building exercise,” Belanger said. “But what better place to observe and learn first hand about exceptional leadership, teamwork and communication skills than on board the pride of the Canadian Navy?”

The day consisted of many informative tours throughout the ship, networking with the crew and a barbecue lunch on deck as the ship traveled from Sarnia to Windsor, Ontario.

Just after 11 a.m., a tribute to 9-11 was performed with a commemorative 11 round gun-fire salute to honor those who suffered or lost their lives.

The ceremonial blasts were heard for miles as the HMCS Ville de Quebec traveled down the St. Clair River and approached the Bluewater Bridge that links Michigan and Ontario. Hundreds of supporters gathered along the shores of the riverbank to cheer and share a moment of silence.

“The captain and crew on board the Ville de Quebec were outstanding,” Belanger said. “They spoke about the day-to-day operations with an open and honest approach. Their sense of pride and fulfillment was apparent throughout the day making me feel like I was right back at sea and it gave the group an intimate perspective of what navy life is like.”

The Ville de Quebec departed from Halifax on August 26 on the 2009 Great Lakes Deployment for a month-long, 11-city tour along Quebec and Ontario shorelines to raise the Canadian Force’s profile and highlight the ship’s national and international contributions, with a focus on bolstering Navy recruitment. A Halifax-class frigate, the Ville de Quebec, measuring 134.2 metres in length, a range of 9,500 nautical miles and a regular crew of 228, she is heavily-armed with sophisticated radar controlled weapon systems, equipment and technology. Her most recent mission involved protecting food supply ships from pirates off the coast of Somalia.

From left to right: Larry Pajot, AGRIS Co-operative vice president; David Malott, AGRIS Co-operative president; Chief Petty Office 1st Class Keith Davidson; Ville de Quebec Captain Luc Cassava; and Chuck Belanger, AGRIS Co-operative agronomy specialist.

Rollin' on the River

Last Friday I attended the 9th annual Showcase of the Kaskaskia Watershed Association (KWA), hosted by the Lower Kaskaskia Stakeholders (LKSI). Nearly 300 guests boarded a barge on the Kaskaskia River near Modoc, Ill. and set off on a three hour tour (cue Gilligan's Island theme song here).

One of the highlights for me was locking through the dam where the Kaskaskia meets the Mississippi. What an experience to witness the change in depth in just a matter of minutes! The Kaskaskia was about 19 feet higher than the Mississippi, so we were lowered on the way through and raised on the way back. The pumps that move the water are amazing!

This was the water level when we started.



You'll see by the water line on the wall that within a matter of minutes, we'd dropped considerably!

The rest of the tour was full of beautiful scenery, informative presentations, and even a few jumping fish. As we returned to the dock, a huge flag was unfurled over the dam as America the Beautiful played in memory of September 11, 2001.

Gateway FS, Inc. is very involved with the LKSI group because they use the Kaskaskia River to send and receive many barge shipments each year. Gateway employees were involved with publicity, registration, food, and technical support during the cruise.