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Sugarbeet Growers elect officers

By: Times Staff, Crookston Times

12-14-2006

The Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association held its annual meeting in Fargo recently, at which members elected officers and directors for the coming term.

Steve Williams of Fisher was elected to replace Lonn Kiel of Crookston as a director, joining Fisher farmers Jim Ross and Ron Reitmeier on the board. Williams is the outgoing president of the RRVSGA and serves as the national president of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association.

Officers elected include:
William Hejl of Amenia, N.D., was elected president. Hejl is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and began farming in 1987. He and his wife, Gwen, have two daughters and a son.

Hejl operates a diversified farm with his son, brother and a partner. They raise spring wheat, soybeans, corn and sugarbeets. He is a member of the board of directors of the ASGA. In addition, he is currently serving as president of the World Association of Beet and Cane Growers. He also holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the North Dakota Air National Guard.

Kelly Erickson of Hallock was re-elected vice president. Erickson, a lifelong farmer who attended the U of M Crookston and North Dakota State University, raises sugarbeets, wheat, barley and soybeans on his northwest Minnesota farm. He and his wife, Karen, have three children.

Erickson previously served as secretary and will now serve his second year as vice president of the RRVSGA. He is currently chairman of the Drayton Factory District Board of the RRVSGA and is a member of the ASGA. Erickson is a member and past president of the Red River Lutheran Church, past chairman of the Kennedy Farmers Elevator Board, presently on the board of the Kittson Memorial Hospital, and has also served on the local township board.

Paul Rutherford of Euclid was re-elected treasurer. Rutherford attended NDSU. He has farmed since 1976 in northwestern Minnesota raising sugarbeets, soybeans, and wheat. He and his wife, Wanda, have four children.

Rutherford currently serves as vice chairman of the East Grand Forks Factory District Board of the RRVSGA and is a member of the ASGA. He has served as president of the church council for Fisher Lutheran Church. He is also active in his community.

Dale Kuehl of Glyndon was re-elected secretary. Kuehl, who attended NDSU, has been farming since 1975. He and his brothers raise sugarbeets, wheat, and soybeans on their western Minnesota farm.

Kuehl is currently chairman of the Moorhead Factory District for the RRVSGA where he has been a member of the board since 1997. He is also a member of the ASGA. He and his wife, Tracy, have three children and are active in church and community activities.

The RRVSGA has nearly 3,000 members who are grower-owners of the American Crystal Sugar Company. American Crystal has plants in Crookston, Moorhead and East Grand Forks in Minnesota and Hillsboro and Drayton in North Dakota.