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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate Richard L. Guebert Jr. on
4the occasion of his retirement as president of Illinois Farm
5Bureau; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Richard Guebert was born and raised on a 120-cow
7family dairy farm; after returning home from Southern Illinois
8University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in agriculture
9education with a minor in animal science, he started his own
10farming operation with his wife, Nancy; he and his son, Kyle,
11operate a farm in Ellis Grove, where they raise corn,
12soybeans, and wheat; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Richard Guebert is the 15th president of Illinois
14Farm Bureau and serves as a full-time executive officer; he is
15also president of COUNTRY Financial, the Illinois Agricultural
16Service Company, and the IAA Foundation; he serves on the
17Leadership Council and the board of the Illinois Agri-Food
18Alliance, a statewide initiative to enable Illinois and the
19Chicago region to become the leading global hub for food and
20agriculture; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Prior to his election as president, Richard
22Guebert served as vice president of Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB)

 

 

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1from 2003 to 2013; as vice president, he also served as
2chairman of the COUNTRY/IFB Governance Committee; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Before Richard Guebert's time with Illinois Farm
4Bureau, he served as director of the Lower Kaskaskia
5Stakeholders, Inc. from 1999 to 2004, director of the
6Kaskaskia Watershed Association from 2000 to 2004, director of
7Gateway FS from 1990 to 2008, and on the board of directors of
8the Randolph County Farm Bureau from 1993 to 2003, where he
9also served as vice president from 1994 to 1996 and president
10from 1996 to 2003; and
 
11    WHEREAS, In 2001, Richard Guebert served on the Illinois
12Farm Bureau Co-op Task Force and completed the Agricultural
13Leaders of Tomorrow leadership training; he was named a Master
14Farmer by Prairie Farmer magazine in 2006; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In March 2007, Richard Guebert accompanied
16then-Director Jack Lavin of the Illinois Department of
17Commerce and Economic Opportunity and other delegates on a
18trade mission to India to open a trade office in New Delhi; in
19June 2007, he traveled to Poland with then-Lt. Governor Pat
20Quinn on a four-city cultural exchange and trade mission that
21developed and enhanced the relationship between Illinois and
22Poland; in March 2009, he was part of the farm and business
23delegation to Cuba under the direction of the former U.S.

 

 

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1Secretary of Agriculture Jack Block; he was appointed by
2then-Governor Pat Quinn to the Taxpayer Action Board in April
32009 and the Governor's Export Advisory Council in 2012; he
4participated in a trade mission to China with Governor Quinn
5and several business leaders from across the State in 2011;
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, Richard Guebert and his wife have one son, Kyle
8(Michelle), and two granddaughters, Emma and Ella; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Richard Guebert's leadership and vision during
10his tenure at Illinois Farm Bureau will leave a lasting impact
11on agriculture; therefore, be it
 
12    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
13HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
14we congratulate Richard Guebert Jr. on his retirement, and we
15thank him for his dedication and commitment to improving the
16economic well-being of agriculture and enriching the quality
17of farm family life; and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
19presented to Richard Guebert as an expression of our esteem
20and respect.