ENFIELD, Conn. — The 2019 director candidates were formally introduced at Farm Credit East’s Annual Meeting in March, and following, voting stockholders were mailed their ballots to vote in the 2019 Director Elections. As a customer-owned cooperative, the annual director election is an important opportunity for stockholders to express their voice in ownership and direction of the cooperative. Farm Credit East encourages members to vote. Ballots must be returned to our Enfield, CT office by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 15.
In 2019, there are seven candidates running for the four open director seats on the Farm Credit East Board. Each seat to be elected is for a four-year term. Following are this year’s seven highly qualified candidates. More information on each candidate, including video interviews, are available on FarmCreditEast.com/DirectorElections.
SEAT ONE, from the Eastern Region
- Kurt W. Alstede, of Chester, N.J., is founder, owner and general manager of Alstede Farms, LLC, a 600-acre vertically integrated fruit and vegetable farm.
- Henry Lyon Huntington, of Loudon, N.H., is the owner, partner and president/CEO of Pleasant View Gardens, Inc., a 15-acre wholesale floriculture greenhouse business.
SEAT TWO, from the Eastern Region
- Thomas Qualey, of Sherman, Maine, is owner and partner of Three Oak Farms, a 1,200-acre commercial farm operation producing 350-400 acres of chipping potatoes and 500-800 acres of rotation crops, including oats, barley, hay and wheat.
- James Alvin Robbins II, of Searsmont, Maine, is president of Robbins Lumber Inc., a fifth-generation, fully integrated sawmill that produces Eastern White Pine lumber and manages 27,000 acres of timberland in Maine.
SEAT THREE, from the Central Region
- Laurie Keene Griffen, of Stillwater, N.Y., is co-owner and operator of Saratoga Sod Farm, a 700-acre turfgrass sod farm, also growing 500 acres of corn and soybeans.
SEAT FOUR, from the Western Region
- Peter R. Call, of Batavia, N.Y., is president of My-T Acres, Inc., an 8,500-acre farm growing peas, snap beans, carrots, cabbage and red beets for canning and freezing, sweet corn for fresh market, and potatoes for chips.
- David M. Votypka, of Wayland, N.Y., is owner of Votypka Farms, a second-generation, 650-acre crop farm growing winter wheat, soybeans, and snap beans and peas for processing.
Each voting stockholder is encouraged to vote for one candidate in each of the four open positions. A tellers committee of members will convene on April 17 to count the votes. For more information on this year’s candidates, visit FarmCreditEast.com/DirectorElections.
–Farm Credit East