By Jenny Mills, NEAFA President
NEAFA proudly recognized John M. Clark as the Distinguished Service Award winner at the 2024 Annual Meeting. This award was presented by Rick Zimmerman, former NEAFA executive director, and Andy Dugan, a past NEAFA president. This award is presented to individual(s) who have shown a long-time commitment to the agricultural industry in the Northeast. John’s accomplishments were highlighted during the presentation.
First, John’s dedication of more than 40 years of leadership in the dairy industry and a tremendous commitment to the future through enthusiastic efforts to train and prepare more than 65 individuals within his own purpose-driven internship program was highlighted. He is an active alumnus of SUNY Cobleskill and Cornell University and a Professional Animal Scientist (PAS).
John Clark joined the NEAFA Board of Directors in 2012, serving as treasurer, chaired the Finance and Good Works Committees, as well as served on the Governmental Relations, and Conventions Committees. During John’s tenure as chair of the Good Works Committee, NEAFA has raised over $140,000 dollars, through the Golf for Good Works Program, which has supported dozens of youth and agricultural promotion programs. In addition, John spearheaded the NEAFA Scholarship Program, which provides $1000 scholarships each year to 4 high school seniors pursuing educational interests in agriculture. This program is in its 6th year and remains an important element of our Good Works committee.
As president of NEAFA from 2018 to 2021, John lead the organization through the pandemic, keeping NEAFA relevant and moving the organization forward to continue to serve the agribusiness community. John lead the organization to undertake two annual meetings in Florida, celebrating NEAFA’s 10 year and 15-year anniversaries.
Rick Zimmerman concluded his remarks saying, “John Clark is always willing to pitch in, always willing to step up, always willing to emcee our annual meetings, always seeing the opportunities and possibilities of Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance and our industry.”
Congratulations to John Clark, our 2024 Distinguished Service Award winner!