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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to
3congratulate Richard L. Guebert Jr. on the occasion of his
4retirement as president of Illinois Farm Bureau; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Richard Guebert was born and raised on a 120-cow
6family dairy farm; after returning home from Southern Illinois
7University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in agriculture
8education with a minor in animal science, he started his own
9farming operation with his wife, Nancy; he and his son, Kyle,
10operate a farm in Ellis Grove, where they raise corn,
11soybeans, and wheat; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Richard Guebert is the 15th president of Illinois
13Farm Bureau and serves as a full-time executive officer; he is
14also president of COUNTRY Financial, the Illinois Agricultural
15Service Company, and the IAA Foundation; he serves on the
16Leadership Council and the board of the Illinois Agri-Food
17Alliance, a statewide initiative to enable Illinois and the
18Chicago region to become the leading global hub for food and
19agriculture; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Prior to his election as president in December
212013, Richard Guebert served as vice president of Illinois
22Farm Bureau (IFB) from 2003 to 2013; as vice president, he also

 

 

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1served as chairman of the COUNTRY/IFB Governance Committee;
2and
 
3    WHEREAS, Before Richard Guebert's time with Illinois Farm
4Bureau, he served as director of the Lower Kaskaskia
5Stakeholders, Inc. from 1999 to 2004, director of the
6Kaskaskia Watershed Association from 2000 to 2004, director of
7Gateway FS from 1990 to 2008, and on the board of directors of
8the Randolph County Farm Bureau from 1993 to 2003, where he
9also served as vice president from 1994 to 1996 and president
10from 1996 to 2003; and
 
11    WHEREAS, In 2001, Richard Guebert served on the Illinois
12Farm Bureau Co-op Task Force and completed the Agricultural
13Leaders of Tomorrow leadership training; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Richard Guebert was named a Master Farmer by
15Prairie Farmer magazine in 2006; and
 
16    WHEREAS, In March 2007, Richard Guebert accompanied
17then-Director Jack Lavin of the Illinois Department of
18Commerce and Economic Opportunity and other delegates on a
19trade mission to India to open a trade office in New Delhi; in
20June 2007, he traveled to Poland with then-Lt. Governor Pat
21Quinn on a four-city cultural exchange and trade mission that
22developed and enhanced the relationship between Illinois and

 

 

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1Poland; in March 2009, he was part of the farm and business
2delegation to Cuba under the direction of the former U.S.
3Secretary of Agriculture Jack Block; he was appointed by
4then-Governor Pat Quinn to the Taxpayer Action Board in April
52009 and the Governor's Export Advisory Council in 2012; he
6participated in a trade mission to China with Governor Quinn
7and several business leaders from across the State in 2011;
8and
 
9    WHEREAS, Richard Guebert and his wife, Nancy, are parents
10to their son, Kyle; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Richard Guebert's leadership and vision during
12his tenure at Illinois Farm Bureau will leave a lasting impact
13on agriculture; therefore, be it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
15ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate
16Richard Guebert Jr. on his retirement, and we thank him for his
17dedication and commitment to improving the economic well-being
18of agriculture and enriching the quality of farm family life;
19and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21presented to Richard Guebert as an expression of our esteem
22and respect.