Gronau, Podhajsky and Rozenboom re-elected as district directors to board
WEST DES MOINES, IOWA -- Dec. 5, 2013 - Craig Hill of Milo was re-elected president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) at the organization's 95th annual meeting in Des Moines. Delegates also re-elected three district directors to the board. They include Doug Gronau of Vail, Nick Podhajsky of Traer and Calvin Rozenboom of Oskaloosa.
Hill's service to the Iowa Farm Bureau started at the county level. He was involved in various positions with the Warren County Farm Bureau board of directors. In 1989, he was elected as the District 8 representative on the state board of directors. He then served as the organization's vice president from 2001-2011 before being elected president.
As president, Hill serves as chairman of the board of FBL Financial Group, Inc., and serves on the American Farm Bureau board of directors. In addition, he serves on the Rain & Hail LLC board of directors.
Throughout his years on the IFBF board, Hill has been involved in a variety of projects. He was instrumental in the development of Revenue Assurance, a revenue-based crop insurance for corn and soybean farmers. He also served as the first chairman of the Iowa Ag State Group, which consists of representatives from all sectors of Iowa's agriculture, and on the U.S. Grains Council. Hill was also appointed to Governor Vilsack's Strategic Planning Council in 1999 to help Iowa prepare for the future of our state in 2010. In 2003, the AFBF named Hill to a 23-member national committee, Making Agriculture Productive and Profitable (MAPP). The committee develops policy options for Farm Bureau to consider.
He and his wife, Patti, have two children. Their son, Adam, is involved on the family grain and livestock operation. Their daughter, Abbie, is an associate attorney with Gross & Welch in Omaha, Neb.
Gronau represents District 4, which consists of 11 counties in west central Iowa. He was elected to the position in 2001. Prior to his election to the board, he was vice chairman of the internal study committee. Gronau has served in numerous Crawford County Farm Bureau leadership capacities. He has served on several statewide environmental committees representing IFBF and was also a member of the IFBF Speaker Corps. He has also been appointed to the Farm Bureau Life Insurance Board of Directors. He currently serves on the Leopold advisory board.
Podhajsky represents District 6, which consists of 11 counties in eastern Iowa. He was elected to the position in 2011. Podhajsky was a 2010 Iowa delegate representative for the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting and has served in many other elected positions in his county Farm Bureau office, including president and county voting delegate.
Rozenboom represents District 8, which consists of 10 counties in south central Iowa. He was elected to the position in 2001. Before that, he was very active in the Mahaska County Farm Bureau where he served as president and vice president. He has also served as chairman of the IFBF swine advisory committee and as a member of the IFBF resolutions committee. He was also a member of the AFBF swine advisory committee. He has spent six years on the board of directors of CRWRC, an international relief agency which currently serves in 28 countries, primarily providing community development, health education, literacy services and disaster relief.
Nine delegates were elected to represent Iowa at the AFBF annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 12-15, 2014. They include : IFBF President Craig Hill, Vice President Joe Heinrich of Maquoketa, Doug Boland of Williamsburg, Cal Rozenboom of Oskaloosa, Dallas Johnston of Kent, Dave Kronlage of Dyersville, Gary Rayhons of Garner, Paul Gieselman of Morning Sun, and Dan Chism of Emmetsburg.
Dave Seil of Gowrie (Webster County) was elected to a three-year term on the IFBF internal study committee. The internal study committee serves as a liaison between the county Farm Bureau voting delegates and the state board of directors.
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About Iowa Farm Bureau
The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation is a grassroots, statewide organization dedicated to enhancing the People, Progress and Pride of Iowa. More than 153,000 families in Iowa are Farm Bureau members, working together to achieve farm and rural prosperity. For more information about Farm Bureau and agriculture, visit the online media center at www.iowafarmbureau.com.
