b'Alan Galbreth was honored with the 2019 ASTA Distinuished Service Award.the on-call advisor for the third and fourthIve had the opportunity to work with generations of Curtis seedsmen. John for the past 10 years, Flint said. Outside of the seed industry, CurtisHes been active in ASTAs International has been active in the New Mexico legis- Executive Committee for the past five years. lature, serving as minority caucus chair- Hes been instrumental in shaping ASTAs man, minority whip and minority leader.U.S. Plant Variety Protection strategy, Between 2006 and 2010, he served onour involvement in UPOV policy and the the New Mexico State University BoardInternational Seed FederationJohn con-of Regents, including the positions oftinues to work on germplasm security and chairman and secretary. In addition, theenforcement at the international level.New Mexico Finance Authority, NewIn his remarks, Flint summed up Mexico State Fair Commission and ClovisDuesing as a relentless advocate for ASTA Chamber of Commerce have also benefit- and the intellectual property protection of ted from Curtis leadership. seed.Another seedsman who has demon- In accepting the award, Duesing said: strated leadership in the plant varietyIts been truly a collaboration working protection arena is John Duesing. Afterwith ASTAfor ASTAon a global basis, more than 35 years in the plant biotech- looking for every opportunity to present nology and seed industry, Duesing retiredour global seed industrys success and our from Corteva Agriscience in May. Forvision to the broader seed industry more the past four-and-half-years, he led thewidely and to the governmental sector companys Intellectual Property Assetto ensure that ASTA is foremost in their Protection group. Through the years, hisminds as a critical global player for seed work spanned global plant variety protec- and farmer success worldwide.tion, trade secret risk management andThe association presented two monitoring research activities for compli- John Duesing received the ASTAmore awards during the meeting, the ance with commercial agreements. Lifetime Honorary Member Award. Distinguished Service Award and an all-66/ SEEDWORLD.COMSEPTEMBER 2019'