Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76SEPTEMBER 2016 SEEDWORLD.COM / 59 Krysta Harden, vice president of public policy and chief sustainability officer for Dupont and a former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provided one of the conference highlights with her keynote speech. “She focused on the importance of developing a relationship with our elected officials and decision-makers, making sure we are the ones they call on when issues impacting the seed and agriculture industry are deciding on legislation and policy,” says LaVigne. "It was very well- received.” Gumina agrees that Harden’s message resonated with the seed industry. “She did a great job talking about what I would call outreach and engagement around seed trade issues and being able to tell our story to the public and to the regulators, so that we don't get overshadowed by those naysayers who might want to put us in a different light,” he says. Awarding the Industry’s Best Gumina himself was in the spotlight in Portland when he picked up one of the ASTA awards handed out during the conference. He received ASTA’s Lifetime Honorary Membership Award, given out in recognition of tireless service to the association as well as the seed industry.  Gumina, who was selected by outgo- ing ASTA chair Risa DeMasi and who him- self named renowned seed entrepreneur Sonny Beck as the recipient of the same award during his term as ASTA chair, says he was extremely honored. “It's humbling to receive this kind of an award, especially because I know a lot of the people in the industry and there are so many others who are deserving of something like this. For [DeMasi] to pick me out, I think was extremely gracious and I just really appreciated it,” he says. "From my point of view, these kinds of awards are a validation of a body of work that's been done perhaps over decades. And that for me brings a lot of gratification.” Larry Nees, who retired in May after 36 years as the seed control official for Indiana, received ASTA’s Distinguished Service Award. During his many years with the Office of the Indiana State Chemist and Seed Commissioner, Nees was responsible for enforcement and administration of the Indiana Seed Law, the Indiana Seed Arbitration Law, the Indiana Legume Inoculants and Plant Growth Substances Law, and the Inspections Under Seed Contracts Law. “I’m just very honored to receive some- thing like this,” says Nees. “It makes me feel very good to know they found some value in what I did and what I contributed to the seed industry over those years.” The biggest honor went to Owen Newlin. He received the first-ever Lifetime Industry Achievement Award handed out by ASTA, which acknowledges excep- tional professionals whose career contri- butions to the seed industry span more than 50 years. Retired from Pioneer, Newlin is a long-time ambassador for Iowa State University, has served on the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, and is a past president and current board member of the American Seed Research Foundation. He’s also ASTA’s longest serving past president and is still an active board member with the association. “I just can't say enough about Owen,” says LaVigne. “He's always been just a huge advocate for ASTA and the activi- ties of the association, truly looking to contribute whatever he could, whenever he could. He doesn't slow down.” During the meeting, ASTA elected its 2016-17 officer team which will continue to drive the association’s five-year strate- gic plan, focusing strongly on advocacy, efficiency of operations, and internal and external communications. New Leadership Mark Herrmann, president and CEO of AgReliant Genetics, is the new ASTA chair, moving up from the position of first vice chair. Tracy Tally, owner of Justin Seeds, is now the association’s first vice chair, after serving as second vice chair. Jerry Flint, vice president, regulatory affairs at DuPont Pioneer, is the new second vice chair. During his acceptance speech, Herrmann vowed to continue ASTA’s strong commitment to be the voice of the American seed industry, to have an open and ongoing dialogue between members and leadership, and to have efficient inter- nal operations to ensure the association is prepared to address whatever issues or threats emerge in the future. “The seed industry today faces both unprecedented challenges and opportu- nities,” says Herrmann. “Whether it’s the threat of regulatory uncertainty, interna- tional issues impacting the movement of seed, or simply a lack of understanding from the public about the importance of the work we do, it’s never been more important that we proactively drive a strong and unified industry to address the issues we will face in the future.” ASTA’s 134th annual convention will be held June 21-24, 2017, in Minneapolis, Minn. SW Mark Herrmann is the new chair of the American Seed Trade Association.