Gore named director of Energy Center

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Jay P. Gore has been named director of the Energy Center at Purdue’s Discovery Park.

Gore, the Vincent P. Reilly Professor in Mechanical Engineering, had led the Energy Center as its interim director since its inception in 2005. He is also the past associate dean for research and entrepreneurship in the College of En-gineering.

Gore had served as a research fellow in aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan and as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland before arriving at Purdue in 1991. His research is in the area of combustion and radiation heat transfer with applications to pollutant reduction, efficiency enhancements, fire safety and improved fundamental understanding.

The Energy Center at Discovery Park, created with seed money from the Lilly Endowment, facilitates high-impact, multidisciplinary projects in energy alternatives and consumption. The center is focused on developing economical and environmentally sound energy alternatives and to help change policies and perceptions about energy consumption.

Discovery Park is the home of Purdue’s interdisciplinary research programs. Along with the Energy Center, the park has centers for bioscience, cyberinfrastructure, e-enterprise, entrepreneurship, environment, learning, advanced manufacturing, nanotechnology, oncological science and healthcare engineering.

New face at Wright Implement

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — Wright Implement Co., Inc., with John Deere dealerships in Williamsport, Crawfords-ville and Rockville, Ind., is pleased to announce that Scott Williams has joined its Service Technician forces at the Crawfordsville store.

Williams is a 2004 graduate of Western Boone High School and attended Ivy Tech after high school. He was previously employed with Bill Estes Ford and Bill Estes Chevrolet dealerships in the Indianapolis area as a service technician. He has also worked in the family business for several years, Williams Tool & Die in Jamestown, Ind.

He lives in Crawfordsville and will be assigned as a service technician. He will begin training as a combine and planter technician. Later, he will probably assume some tractor and lawn and garden service responsibilities, as well.

Grever named Farm Manager of the Year

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Richard Grever, AFM, a 26-year veteran with Hertz Farm Management based in DeKalb, Ill., was named Farm Manager of the Year during the recent annual meeting of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.

Grever has built a client base providing management and appraisal services that now includes 81 clients and landowners representing more than 23,000 acres in 34 counties across Illinois and Missouri. A University of Illinois graduate, he has received several prestigious conservation awards, including being named the 2004 State Farm Manager Conservationist by the Assoc. of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts. He is also actively involved and works with Pheasants Forever and other wildlife organizations.

Grever is a member of the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers and received the Accredited Farm Manager designation in 1986. The award is sponsored by Syngenta and AgProfessional magazine.

Ohio Beef Council Cattlemen welcome Agle

MARYSVILLE, Ohio — Emily Agle of South Vienna is a recent addition to the Ohio Beef Council and Ohio Cattlemen’s Assoc. staff in Marysville, Ohio.

Agle, a graduate of The Ohio State University with a degree in strategic communications, is serving as the director of programs and industry relations for OBC and OCA. Since graduating in June, she has worked for FCStone, LLC in Indianapolis, Ind., as a risk management associate. The director of programs and industry relations will largely focus on developing and implementing checkoff-funded programs in the areas of consumer advertising, retail, foodservice, veal and nutrition.

Agle will also coordinate the OCA Young Cattlemen’s Conference, help plan OCA district meetings, oversee the Foundation’s fundraising and scholarship program and is responsible for coordinating the Ohio Beef Expo junior show activities.

Indiana pork producers elected to national positions

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Two Indiana pork producers have been elected to leadership within national pork industry governing bodies.

Alan Wilhoite of Lebanon has been selected to serve on the National Pork Board (NPB) and is awaiting approval by the USDA. Mark Legan of Coatesville has been elected to the board of directors of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). Both will serve three-year terms in their respective positions and will represent the interests of all pork producers through these key national organizations.

The NPB is a group of 15 pork producers or importers, nominated by Pork Act Delegates at the National Pork Forum and appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture. The board collects the National Pork Checkoff funds to implement programs of promotion, research and consumer information designed to enhance the marketing of U.S. pork and pork products.

Once approved, Wilhoite will be serving his second term with the NPB. He runs Wilhoite Family Farm, LLC, a farrow-to-finish operation with 1,800 sows that markets 32,000 hogs annually. Nationally, he serves on several NPB committees, including administrative, nutrition, pork safety and swine health. He served as president of Indiana Pork and has been a member of its board of directors and executive committee since 2000. He is also a member of the Boone County Pork Producers and is active in the Indiana Soybean Alliance, the Indiana Corn Growers Assoc., Indiana Beef Cattle Assoc. and the Boone County Farm Bureau.
Legan has also been an active leader in Indiana pork for many years. He runs Legan Livestock and Grain, a 1,600-sow farrow-to-wean enterprise marketing 35,000 hogs annually. He has served as a member and past president of the Putnam County Pork Producers Assoc. and Indiana Pork, and has been an NPPC and NPB delegate for Indiana to the National Pork Industry Forum. He has served on county and state Farm Bureau committees. Legan will serve for three years on the NPPC board of directors.