JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Through a mail and electronic ballot, the stockholders of FCS Financial elected four directors to the board. Elected by the cooperative’s member-owners were incumbent Kenny Bergmann of Walnut Grove, Mo., incumbent Mark Pierce of Dekalb, Mo., Dale Ridder of Hermann, Mo., and David Wright of Emden, Mo.
FCS Financial provides credit and financial services to agricultural producers, agricultural-related businesses and rural residents. The board consists of 12 elected and 3 appointed members and has 12 areas of representation.
Bergmann, 51, was elected to a four-year term representing Christian, Dallas, Douglas, Greene, Laclede, Polk, Taney, Webster and Wright counties.
He and his wife, Karen, have three children. He is a fourth generation farmer with fifth and sixth generations actively participating in the farming operations. They own 601 acres and rent an additional 591 acres and produce alfalfa, wheat, fescue seed and brome and raise 200-head cow/calf herd and background up to 150-head.
Bergmann earned an Agricultural Business Management degree from Missouri State University. He is corporate sales manager for S&H Farm Supply.
Bergmann is a member of the Dadeville R- 11 School District Board serving as president since 2003. Prior to this appointment, he served 14 years with the Polk County Soil & Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors.
Along with his family, Bergmann is a life-long member at the Church of God at Eudora, Mo., where he teaches adult Bible classes. He volunteers as a sponsor/counselor at Harmony Hill Youth Camp.
Bergmann has served on the FCS Financial Board of Directors since 2010, currently presiding as chairman.
Pierce, 60, was elected to a three-year term representing Buchanan, Caldwell, Clay, Clinton, Jackson, Lafayette, Platte, and Ray counties.
He comes from a long line of farmers and started building his agriculture operation early on, first with his father and now with his son Remington.
Their farming operation includes 1,350 owner-operated acres with additional 1,900 rented acres on which they raise corn, soybeans, hay and a 250 cow/calf operation. In addition, they sell Asgrow and DeKalb seed to local farmers and custom farms another 700 acres.
Pierce honed his leadership skills through a variety of development programs on both a national and international level including the University of Kentucky’s Philip Morris Agricultural Leadership Development programs, R.J. Reynolds Media Training and the Gettysburg Leadership Experience. He has used the knowledge gained from these opportunities to give back to his community by serving on a variety of boards including Buchanan County Farm Bureau, Missouri State Technical Committee for USDA NRCS, Missouri Regional Developmental Disability Advisory Council and Dekalb Homecoming Association.
Pierce, a member since 1977, has served on the FCS Financial Board of Directors since 2002, currently presiding as vice chair and the appointed member to the AgriBank District Farm Credit Council representing Missouri and the Farm Credit Council.
Pierce and his wife, Marlene, has been married to his wife Marlene for 36 years. They have three sons and two grandchildren and are actively involved in their local Dekalb Christian Church.
Ridder, 72, as elected to a four-year term representing Benton, Cole, Franklin, Gasconade, Maries, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan, Osage and Pettis counties.
He began farming through his involvement in 4-H and FFA. Ridder is the owner/operator of Ridder Farms, LLC, a seven-generation family farm that includes his three sons, daughter-in-law and grandsons. The operation is a registered Charolais beef-breeding program that sells cattle and genetics across the United States and in Canada and Mexico and includes production of all the forage and grain used. He owns 550 acres and leases an additional 700 acres.
Ridder holds degrees in agriculture, vocational agriculture education, and an Ed.D in Educational Administration from the University of Missouri. He currently serves as a board member for the Hermann Area District Hospital, Three Rivers’ Helping Hands Community Foundation, Hermann Area Chamber of Commerce and Gasconade County Industrial Development Authority. Additionally, his background includes numerous leadership roles at local and state levels in Farm Bureau, Soil and Water Conservation, Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, Missouri Charolais Breeder’s Association, University of Missouri Ag Alumni Association, county and state fairs and civic and educational organizations.
Ridder attends the Zion-St. Paul United Church of Christ at Bay, Mo., and has served several terms on the church council as well as the Council’s Conference Committee.
Wright, 60, was elected to a four-year term representing Macon, Marion, Monroe, Pike, Ralls, Randolph and Shelby counties.
He and his wife, Jennifer, have been married 39 years and have three children, seven grandchildren and two more on the way.
They started out by buying his home farm in 1982 from his parents, which is now a fifth generation farm operating in northeast Missouri, and have been members of FCS Financial since 1984. They own 1,200 acres and rent additional acreage raising corn, soybeans, wheat and hay using conservation tillage practices and building soil-saving structures in order to preserve natural resources for future generations.
Wright and his family also have a beef cattle operation selling most of the calves as yearlings. He served on the steering committee and later on the original board of directors of Missouri’s first ethanol plant in Macon, Mo. He currently serves on the Missouri Rural Electric Cooperative and Northeast Power Electric Cooperative Boards of Directors where he presides as president and vice president, respectively.
Wright and his family attend Mission Hill Baptist Church in Palmyra, Mo., where he serves as a teacher. They are Farm Bureau members, lifetime members of the Missouri Soybean Association, and active supporters of their local community.
— FCS Financial
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