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GEAPS leaders
reflect on successful
Exchange 2015
Exchange 2015 was a huge success, said Matt
Kerrigan, Bunge North America, GEAPS
International president. It was our second
largest conference with 3,215 attendees from
31 countries. We had 35 hours of educational
programming presented by 55 speakers and

the Expo saw 354 exhibitors fill nearly 200,000

square feet of space.

s impressive as the numbers are,

the most important measure of
success is the feedback we have
received from participants. Both
new attendees and Exchange
veterans found a tremendous
amount of value in the
conversations they had networking
with other attendees, in the number
and diversity of the exhibitors in the Expo and the education
sessions on emerging trends and technology. Exchange keeps
growing every year, and it is because GEAPS places such an
emphasis on providing quality in every aspect of the conference.

Future for the industry/show

Exchange 2016 will be in Austin, Texas, said Jeff Roumph,

WD Patterson Co. Inc., Associates Board president. We look
forward to offering more of everything that made this years
64 | Milling and Grain

conference so successful. Next years Expo will be the largest

ever, with more space and more exhibitors. We already sold out
the original contracted space, and are in the process of adding
more exhibit space, up to 250,000 square feet of total space. We
made some changes to accommodate more large-scale booths,
which should give exhibitors more options for hands-on displays.
As the show grows, so does the variety. We have a number of
companies that have exhibited at Exchange for more than 40
years, and this year we saw 30 new companies exhibiting for the
first time. There is always something new to see.
GEAPS is also hard at work expanding the other facets of
the show, said Allan Tedrow, McCormick Construction Co.,
Exchange Educational Programming Committee chair. The
Exchange Educational Programming Committee is already
gathering ideas for next years sessions, including new processing
education sessions. As the show grows, we look forward to
offering more operations solutions in the Expo, more education
for more sectors of the grain industry and more networking
opportunities for attendees in Kansas City in 2017 and Denver in
2018.

What the general feeling was from the exhibitors and

attendees

The feedback we have received is very positive, Kerrigan

said. Even though the show has grown tremendously in recent
years, we had shorter lines at registration thanks to a new
badge-on-demand system. Our educational programming was
well attended and well received and covered a broad range of
emerging trends and technologies. In the Expo, we heard from
both new and returning exhibitors that the show provided a
tremendous amount of value and traffic.

Awards that were presented

Industry Leader Award George Kornstad, retired

GEAPS Industry Leader award honors individuals who have
made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of grain

OVER 50 YEARS OF ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS

Sukup Manufacturing Co. continues to Engineer Solutions to meet the challenges of
the grain industry. As the worlds fastest-growing bin company we offer commercial bins
with clear span roofs and holding capacities up to 1.5 million bushels. We also have
a complete line of drying, storage, and material handling products, as well as steel
buildings - all engineered to revolutionize grain processing and storage, making it
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F
handling operations in the areas of safety, health, environmental
responsibility, efficiency or excellence in stored-grain quality
management.
GEAPS Lifetime member George Kornstad received the award
for his dedication to the grain industry in the U.S. and overseas.
He started his career at the Continental Grain Company in 1966,
and was an elevator superintendent at OSHAs first inspection
of an elevator. In 1993, he accepted a position with the Citizens
Network for foreign Affairs and spent four years living in
Moscow. During that time, he built small grain storage units
at 57 sites in Russia and Ukraine. He then went to work on a
state-of-the-art export unloading elevator in the Mediterranean
Sea in Alexandria, Egypt. After retiring in 2003 and returning to
the U.S., Kornstad continued his global service to the industry
by teaching proper grain storage practices for U.S. AID-funded
companies in Russia, Bulgaria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and
Afghanistan.

Corbett Award Steve Schmitt, TE Ibberson Co

Steve Schmitt, TE Ibberson Co., received the Corbett Award,

which is the highest honor for distinguished volunteer leadership
in representing the best interests of Associate members in the
pursuit of GEAPS core purpose and envisioned future.
After filling multiple roles for his chapters, Schmitt was
encouraged to extend his volunteer leadership to the Associates
Board, where he was elected and served as a director from
2006-2008, secretary for 2008-2009, vice president in 20092010 and president for 2010-2011. Schmitt valued the leadership
experience he gained on the board and emphasised the need to
recruit strong board leaders to make the decisions that help the
organisation grow and meet the needs of members.

International Member of Distinction Tim Sullivan,

West Central

GEAPS International Member of Distinction is bestowed on a

member who has made extraordinary contributions to advancing
GEAPS core purpose and values. Tim Sullivan, West Central,
was recognised for his continuous contributions over the last
32 years in leadership roles for GEAPS at the chapter and
international levels.
Sullivans career started with a small contractor out of college,
before he moved on to Farmers Cooperative Company for
23 years and then to West Central where he currently works.
Sullivan has built his career and reputation on the pursuit of
excellence and reliability in grain operations. Throughout his
career he has enjoyed collaborating with the high quality industry
experts he met through GEAPS and acquiring many lasting
friendships along the way.
Sullivan served as chapter president from 1985-1986, and
has served on a number of International committees. He was
a part of the original GEAPS Grades and Weights committee,
subsequently a joint committee with the National Grain and Feed
Association that addressed emerging operational and regulatory
issues with the US Department of Agriculture Federal Grain
Inspection Service.
He also served on the Membership committee, Exchange
Educational Programming committee and the Facility Design
Conference task force.
From his chapter and committee work Sullivan was elected to
serve as a director on the International board from 2002-2005
before being named treasurer. He served as treasurer from 20052011, and then continued to serve as an International director for
2011-2012.

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