AGSOURCE RECOGNIZES OUTSTANDING EMPLOYEES
VERONA, Wis. - AgSource recognized DHI employees who have consistently provided outstanding service and dedication to the cooperative at their annual meeting March 18-19 in Stevens Point, Wis. Individuals were nominated for the 2008 Outstanding Service Awards by their manager or board of directors in the areas of laboratory/office, field services, and managerial/administrative.
Laura Biel, recipient of the Laboratory/Office Outstanding Service Award, is the Data Entry Operator at the AgSource Menomonie Laboratory. She has been with AgSource for over 15 years. Laura plays a major part in running the day to day operations in herd processing. The primary objective of her position is to accurately prepare, merge, and generate herd and cow records, transmit data to the AgSource DRPC on a timely basis and to provide office and customer service support as needed. Laura and husband Mike, live in Durand with their two daughters, Nicole and Kendra.
The Field Employee Outstanding Service Award was presented to Dave McDonald, DHI Field Technician for over 29 years. His service and sales area consists of Lafayette, Green and Iowa counties. Dave services 40 supervised herds and 21 owner sampler herds totaling over 7,600 cows. Dave has always been concerned with accuracy and his performance at the end of the year bears this out with an average test interval of 31.8 days, average turnaround is 1.0 day, 98.9% cows identified, and sales over $1,300 in resale supplies. Dave and his wife Carmen live in Darlington with their two daughters Bethany & Bailey and their son Cole.
The 2008 Neal Langjahr Memorial Award for Outstanding Managerial/ Administrative Service was presented to Jean Tegen, Manager of Manitowoc County DHIA. Manitowoc County DHIA services 163 herds and 26,929 cows. Jean began her career with DHIA as a lab technician on July 5, 1951 after graduating from high school in June. She became the Manager of Manitowoc County DHIA in 1964 and still holds that position today. She has served on the Manager's Advisory Committee. Jean is highly respected by coworkers and members, and has been and continues to be a role model to other DHI managers. Jean Tegen was the first recipient of the Neal Lanjahr Memorial Award in 1980, and is the first person to receive this award twice.
In addition to the Outstanding Service Awards, AgSource and its member DHI Associations recognized four employees who have served the cooperative for 25 years. The honorees include Dwayne Marty, AgSource Direct Member Service; Fred Matzke, Brown County DHIA; Anita Shumate, AgSource Verona; Larry Wagner, AgSource Direct Member Service. AgSource and DHI recognized seven employees with 30 years of service - Don Dochnahl, AgSource Direct Member Service; Robert Curtis, Columbia County DHIA; David Galstad, Vernon-Crawford DHIC; Sandy Heath, AgSource Verona; Joanne Klaus, Marathon County DHIA, Deb Meyer, AgSource Verona and Cheryl Stoeklen, AgSource Lab-Menomonie. Myrna Van Duersen, AgSource Verona, was recognized for 35 years of service. AgSource and its member DHI Associations have 60 employees who have provided 25 or more years of DHI service.
AgSource, headquartered in Verona, Wis., is a subsidiary of Cooperative Resources International and a member-owned cooperative that provides agricultural testing and management information services to over 5,500 members with seven locations throughout the Midwest and Idaho.
L-R: Pete Giacomini, Chief Operating Officer AgSource; Laura Biel, Outstanding Service Award recipient;, Jean Teagan, recipient of the Neal Langjahr Memorial Award for Outstanding Managerial Service; Pam Selz-Pralle, President, AgSource Board of Directors
