Washington D.C.- Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy, standing near the "Star Spangled Banner" the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in 1812, said it was this flag that inspired Sir Francis Scott Key to pen the words to our National Anthem.
The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Recepient-Highest Honor In The Ethanol Industry
by Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Owner-Publisher
Washington D.C.- Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy, standing near the "Star Spangled Banner" the American flag that flew over Fort McHenry in 1812, said it was this flag that inspired Sir Francis Scott Key to pen the words to our National Anthem.
Skor said this National Museum of the Smithsonian Institution houses lots of champions in America.
"So, as often the case, we like to celebrate world champions, and select individuals who very much are deserving of our industry's honor, the bio-fuel champion of our "America's Fuel Award".
Skor felt The National Museum housing America's champions, was a fitting venue to hand out the top award in the ethanol industry to the person who has given outstanding and distinguished service in promoting ethanol as America's fuel.
To make the presentation, Skor said, "I want to invite an individual who is not only a friend, and a member of our Board of Directors, who happens to also be a member of the NASCAR hall of fame, and in this museum, I would also argue to say, an American Treasure, Mr. Richard Childress."
Skor asked Childress to talk a little bit about the recipient of the American Fuel Award.
Childress said that several years ago he was asked to be on the board of directors for Growth Energy which was an honor. But tonight, to be able to give this award to a friend of all of ours, is quite an honor too!
Childress said, "The first automobile to run on ethanol was in 1908. Henry Ford's T model. He built an engine that would run on ethanol, gasoline, and it would run on the blend as well.
"Look how far we have come in ethanol since 1908 to where we are today. This is due to so many in this room-so many individuals.
"And the recipient tonight of this award, he is a champion of ethanol.
A good friend I've been fortunate to get to know.
"He is a great man of family, a great man of faith, and he's a great man of believing in America - that's number one.
I sit by him in board meetings and listen to him and I tell you. he is such an inspiration to me, to be around this recipient.
"I've hunted with him, and he is one of the best shots that you would ever want to be with.
I've seen pictures of him driving the race car around at Charlotte, and really it was a fun one. What it was, his beard flew up in his face while he was driving," Childress laughed.
"But tonight, it is such an honor for me to be here to give this American Fuels Award to our recipient tonight - Ray Defenbaugh.
Defenbaugh was unable to travel to Washington D.C. due to his fight against cancer, so Andy Brader and Gene Youngquist of Big River Resources was there to receive the award on Ray's behalf.
Brader accepted the award on behalf of Ray Defenbaugh saying, "Ray has been a long-time supporter of renewable fuels-especially ethanol.
Brader said, "Ethanol is an important Agricultural product that grows for the family farm. Ray's worked hard to earn this, he appreciates this, and we thank you for the award.
Brader went on to say, he had talked to Ray that morning and said, "Ray was really shook up about the award, but he wanted to pass on the message - "to never give-up:. you have a battle on your hands, but never give-up!'"
Brader added, "so, that goes for him, also!"
Gene Youngquist was going to tell one of Ray's stories but he said, "I couldn't tell it as good as Ray could, so I'll pass on that..
"I know our prayers are with Ray and his family. This is the battle of his life. We wish him the best!"
After a large round of applause, Emily Skor said that Raymond E. Defenbaugh joins four other previous recipients of the American Fuel Award who are champions of the Ethanol Fuel Industry. They are:
Thomas J. Vilsack - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (2009-17); Governor Terry Branstad (1993-99; 2011-17) now US Ambassador to China; 4-Star General Wesley Clark (ret.) (US Navy 38 years- NATO's Supreme Allied Commander-Europe) past Growth Energy Board member, and Richard Childress (former NASCAR driver, Richard Childress Racing, business entrepreneur, National Rifle Association, and Growth Energy Board member, NASCAR Hall of Fame, and celebrating his 50th year owning Richard Childress Racing,
Richard Childress closed with a prayer for his friend Ray Defenbaugh and his family as well as for protection of our country, and our military, and he gave God thanks for yet another blessed day to do what we love to do.
Ray Defenbaugh,
Raymond E. Defenbaugh, CEO and chairman of Big River Resources LLC in West Burlington, IA honored with the prestigious America's Fuel Award, also was awarded in 2015 with the High Octane Award, presented at the International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo (FEW).
His ideas and insight, his hard work, ethics, dependability, and ability to work with others and his faith in God are responsible for many successes in ethanol.
Defenbaugh, chair of Growth Energy's Prime the Pump initiative which required hours of fundraising and phone calls to encourage large fuel service station chains to put ethanol and E-15 in their stations by offering them help with grant funding to do so.
As a result, hundreds of gas stations are offering ethanol in their pumps across the United States including Caseys, HyVee, Kum and Go, Cenex, RaceTrac Petroleum, and new markets on the east and west coast with more coming.
Defenbaugh has served on many state and national farm related boards helpful to the industry.
Defenbaugh is a man who talks passionately about strong farmer values and treating others as you would like to be treated. A janitor is just as important as a CEO, he says, and, as with everything he says, he means it. He and his wife, Alice, who he describes as always being supportive, have four children who live within five miles and eleven grandchildren. His two boys run the family farm, one daughter is an emergency room registered nurse at Great River Medical Center and his other daughter works at Big River. He describes himself as blessed.
When asked how he ended up in the ethanol business, Defenbaugh starts out by telling the story of a terrible farm accident that happened in 1963. He was working in the dark in an unfamiliar field, standing on the ground, operating a hydraulic lever on an old corn picker when the equipment touched overhead power lines. Twenty-four hundred volts ran through his body for a half hour while others tried to figure out how to free him. A close friend touched him, in an effort to help, and was instantly killed.
The short version of Defenbaugh's story is that he lost his right arm to gangrene and his toes and part of his feet. Doctors told him repeatedly that he probably wouldn't ever be able to walk, resume farming or participate in activities like shooting or swimming, but he checked himself out of the hospital and proved them wrong on all points. The formerly right-handed man first shot pheasants from his wheelchair. "I thought, well, they were wrong about that, I wonder what else they are wrong about," he said. Next he went for a swim in a swimming hole, they were wrong again.
In order to pay staggering medical bills, Defenbaugh developed a strategy. He went to college with the plan of becoming the best agriculture teacher there was, using that to get a job at a bank, "because they couldn't turn down the best," and use that to make enough money to get back into farming.
"During those times, one thing was lacking," he said. "Ag wasn't really profitable. I could hear a sucking sound, sucking capital out of the communities, and I could see farmers working hard but the rewards were being captured by others."
Ultimately, Defenbaugh, whose family before him had farmed since 1710, took that very path back into farming. Determined to find a way to add value to farming, he became convinced that ethanol was a good solution. He was part of board of directors formed with the goal to build a 40 MMgy ethanol plant. The story of his accident is an important part of how he got into the ethanol industry, he said, because it taught him that a driven individual with a goal won't give up easily. It also made him the kind of person who would always help others, as often as he could, an attitude which is incorporated into Big River's mission and motto.
Today, Big River is a successful business (with the help of all staff and a good board of directors) that has never had a loss year and has never failed to pay dividends to its investors. The company has grown to include four Big River ethanol plants in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, nine grain delivery locations, selling DDGs into the livestock industry and corn oil into the bio-diesel and feed industry.