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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Illinois Soybean Association elected new leadership during its annual meeting July 26 in Champaign.
Ron Kindred, of District 9, was elected chairman after having served as ISA vice chairman for the previous two years.
Kindred, of Atlanta, farms with his wife, Jayne, and son, Jay, raising soybeans and corn.
He is a previous ISA director, having served the association for 13 years, including time as vice president, secretary and legislative chairman and participation in several committees.
“I am honored and excited to serve as chairman of ISA this next year,” Kindred said. “I want to continue to grow our collaboration with other ag groups.
“I want to expand the services we provide to Illinois soybean farmers, grow demand for our soybeans and continue being the leader on soybean issues in Springfield and Washington, D.C. It is a very exciting time for me to be chairman of this great organization.”
Kindred was also a past chairman of Illinois Soybean Growers SoyPac and a soy advocate for ISG’s Voice for Soy program.
Kindred also represented Illinois on the American Soybean Association board and was both vice president and secretary for that group.
He is active with Illinois Farm Bureau and has served as president of East Lincoln Farmers Grain Co-op and Atlanta Township trustee.
“Ron’s dedication to Illinois soybean farmers is highly visible through his years of service on the ISA Board of Directors,” said ISA CEO John Lumpe.
“Having been with the organization for 13 years, he has demonstrated his passion for the agriculture industry, commitment to farmers’ priorities and his unwavering leadership. We are fortunate for him to lead us into what is next for the organization.”
Other elected Executive Committee members include: Vice Chairman Brad Daugherty, Secretary Tim Scates, Treasurer Bryan Severs, Assistant Secretary-Treasurer Dwayne Anderson, Steve Pitstick as Government Relations Committee chair, Brian Atteberry as Market Development Committee chair, and Brady Holst as Soybean Production chair.
Heath Houck of Nokomis joined ISA as District 13 director, replacing Ed Murphy of Farmersville.
ISA has a total board of 18 district directors and six at-large directors from throughout the state who work on behalf of Illinois soybean producers and the checkoff.
Each board member serves one of the following committees: Government Relations, Soybean Production, or Market Development.