SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman announced a new award in memory of Indy Racing League driver and biofuels advocate Paul Dana. The announcement was made at the IRL’s 2006 Ethanol Summit. Paul’s wife, Tonya, and brother, Greg, attended the summit.

Dana was killed in a racing accident this March in Florida. He had been involved with the Indiana State Department of Agriculture in promoting biofuels initiatives and promotions.

“Gov. Daniels and I would like to honor those who have shown great leadership in the biofuels industry, just as Paul did as he promoted ethanol use,” Skillman said. “Paul became a friend as we came to know him during our many initiatives and promotions in the last year. His dedication to ethanol and Indiana agriculture will be missed.”

The 2006 award recipients are:

•Jon Lantz of Countrymark Co-op is part of a team that is a nationwide leader in getting biodiesel to users. Countrymark has the most sophisticated rack injections system for biodiesel in the country. More than 80 percent of the biodiesel in Indiana moves through Countrymark.

•Dr. Mike Ladisch of Purdue University is a distinguished professor and directs the Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering. He is a leader in researching cellulosic ethanol and is helping Indiana lead the way to the next generation of ethanol technology.

•Kellie Walsh of the Central Indiana Clean Cities Alliance has been instrumental in getting many E85 public umps installed across the state. She runs one of the top five Clean Cities programs in the country and just received the Coordinator’s Choice award for best Clean Cities coordinator.

This farm news was published in the May 31, 2006 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.