GEAPS Honors Corbett Award and Industry Leaders at Exchange 2017
GEAPS Honors Corbett Award and Industry Leaders at Exchange 2017
GEAPS honored three outstanding leaders during the President’s Banquet at GEAPS Exchange 2017 in Kansas City. Each honoree was nominated by their peers. GEAPS Associates Board President Colin McClure, PMI Nebraska, Greater Nebraska Chapter and International President Marcus Neal, Lansing Trade Group, Kansas City presented awards.
Corbett Award
Deb Good, Brock Grain Systems, Cornbelt
Good has served in the grain industry for 44 years, and has been an Associate member of GEAPS since 1995.
“When I detassled corn in Mason City Illinois in the late 60s, I vowed that I would not choose a career that had anything to do with corn, bugs, and the like,” Good said. “I never imagined that I would be at this podium. Receiving the highest Associate peer acknowledgment, the Corbett Award, is extremely humbling.”
Good attended her first Exchange in 1996 in New Orleans, and joined the Exchange Educational Programming Committee (EPC) shortly after. She served on the committee for 20 years. She also served on the Associates Board of Directors, the International Executive Committee, GEAPS Foundation Governing Board and Exchange Host Advisory Council. She was the second female president of the Associates Board.
She is particularly proud of the some of the projects she worked on with the EPC, including the creation of the Expo Pods and expansion of the overall education program.
The award was presented by GEAPS Associates Board President Colin McClure, PMI Nebraska, Greater Nebraska.
“Deb started in the industry and in the 80s and worked her way up to become a district sales manager, a position she held for 30 years,” McClure said. “This was a time period when we had very few women in positions of leadership or management. Deb helped pave the way for many others in the grain handling, processing and storage industry. Her leadership and involvement in all aspects of GEAPS make her very deserving of this award.”
About the Corbett Award
The Corbett Award is named in honor of Lifetime member John Corbett, Kansas City Chapter. The GEAPS Associate Board of Directors bestows the Corbett Awards to recognize Associate members who have demonstrated extraordinary volunteer leadership on behalf of all Associate members in the pursuit of GEAPS’ mission and achievement of its general objectives.
Industry Leader Award
Jim Coder, Control Stuff Inc, Minneapolis
“I am very humbled by this award,” Coder said. “It would not have been possible without the support of my spouse Sandy, my family, and the many folks that surround me. This distinction is not singular, and I cannot accept it without sharing accolades with my family, as well as the owners, employees, associates and customers of Control Stuff Inc. This is a shared achievement.”
Coder has been in the electrical construction and control sectors for 43 years, and has had a Masters Electrical License and State Contracting License for 38 years. He joined GEAPS in 2003 to establish relationships with potential customers, gain knowledge and expertise, and to share his knowledge with other members.
Within the grain industry, Coder is particularly proud of the work his company has done on systems integration. He has worked to automate systems that used to take several operators at multiple locations using radios and hand signals and condensed them into processes that can be completed with a few mouse clicks.
Coder also supports a number of charitable organizations. He has a great interest in renewable energy, and has made both financial donations and provided technical assistance on local and international projects in West Africa, Nicaragua, and across the U.S. He has even travelled to Nicaragua with his wife to install a submersible water pump in a village well.
“Throughout his career and his charitable endeavors, Jim has shown a profound interest in making things better,” said Neal. “We have all benefitted from his work on increasing safety and efficiency, and it is an honor to recognize him with the Industry Leader Award.”
Wayne Bauer, Star of the West Milling
Bauer has been involved in the agriculture industry his entire life. He grew up on a farm in Michigan, and earned a degree in Agricultural Mechanization from Michigan State University. Over the past 46 years, he worked in a variety of management areas for seven different firms, including the last 21 with Star of the West Milling.
“It is very gratifying to be nominated and selected for this award by my peers,” Bauer said. “It is also very humbling, when I think of the people who have received this recognition ahead of me.”
Bauer joined GEAPS in 1975, and helped form the Michigan/So Ontario chapter. He was the first president of the group, and he wound up serving as president twice. He also made two trips to Argentina on behalf of GEAPS, and served as International President from 2004-2005. He also worked with two other chapters to create the Great Lakes Regional Conference in Angola, Indiana, and helped establish an active branch of the Emergency Services Rescue Training group in Michigan.
His involvement in the industry has also included chairing the Grain Entrapment Prevention initiative from 1999-2015, co-chairing the Michigan Food and Agriculture Protection & Defense Working Group for over 10 years, and serving on the joint U.S. Agro-Terrorism Prevention and Facility Security Committee in 2007 and 2015.
“Wayne has been a leader in GEAPS and the agriculture industry for a number of years,” Neal said. “His commitment to safety and focus on leadership succession has helped build successful programs that benefit GEAPS and the industry at large.”
About the Industry Leader Award
The GEAPS International Board of Directors bestows the Industry Leader honor to give special recognition to individuals – members and non-members – who have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of operations safety, health, environmental responsibility, efficiency and stored grain quality preservation excellence in the grain handling and processing industry.
