Nebraska Agribusiness Club to honor two November 3

Two Nebraskans have been selected to receive Public Service to Agriculture Awards at the Nebraska Agribusiness Club’s 45th annual awards banquet November 3 at Hillcrest Country Club in Lincoln, according to a news release from the organization.
The 2011 honorees are Rodney K. Gangwish of Shelton and Larry E. Sitzman of Lincoln, according to Kyla Wize, chair of the Club’s Awards Committee.

Entertainment for the evening will be provided by “The Conchords” of Beatrice, whose members include Ryan Broker, Scott Spilker, Jeff Davis and Stacy Williams.

Wize said the banquet is open to the public – tickets are $25 each before October 26 and $30 each after October 26 and through the day of the banquet.

Reservations can be made by contacting Dayle Williamson at 402-441-3178 or 402-488-5590 or via e-mail at daylewilli@aol.com.

Gangwish has been involved in production agriculture for more than 35 years and operates 2,000 acres growing corn, seed corn and soybeans. He holds a degree in agronomy from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL). Throughout his career, he has developed a reputation for being an innovative irrigated farm operator with a passion for serving the industry, agricultural organizations and his community.

Gangwish was elected to the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement and has been a leading proponent of international trade, greater economic development opportunities for agricultural producers and a leadership role model. He has been an effective spokesman for agriculture at the state, regional and national levels. A past president of the Nebraska Corn Growers and National Corn Growers Associations, he worked extensively in Washington, D.C., developing policy for the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the 1996 farm bill. He also served on both the Agricultural Advisory Committee of the Chicago Board of Trade and the Ag Advisory Committee to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington. He and his wife Jane, have two sons and a daughter.

Sitzman attended UNL and began his career on the family’s diversified farm near Culbertson raising cattle, corn, soybeans, dry edible beans, alfalfa, wheat and eco-fallow sorghum. He served as director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture from 1991 to 1999 and initiated agricultural trade missions that continue today to promote sales of Nebraska agricultural products overseas. He served as vice president of Sand Livestock of Columbus from 1999 to 2003 where he conducted business and fostered relationships with international markets. Sitzman was involved in farm machinery marketing from 2003 to 2007.

Since 2007 he has served as executive director of the Nebraska Pork Producers Association promoting pork products and protecting the interests of pork producers in the state by monitoring legislation and regulation. A graduate of the Nebraska LEAD Program, he was named LEAD Alumnus of the Year and honoree of the year by the Nebraska Corn Board. He received the AgRelations Award from the Nebraska Council on Public Relations for Agriculture, the Jewish National Fund Tree of Life Award and was elected to the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement. He and his wife, Sally, have three married sons, Eddie, Eric and Jason and four grandchildren.