Keystone Directors Invest in Listening
Sep 18, 2024
Keystone Cooperative will soon celebrate 100 years of business in the Midwest. This impressive feat is accredited to our drive in supporting local communities and has been upheld through listening and collaborating—not talking. Some of the most productive conversations didn’t take place in a board room or at an annual meeting, but along the rural routes, in gravel lots and alongside the Keystone team at one of our locations during a board tour.
Keystone’s trade footprint is divided into five districts, and each district has representation from four Keystone board members. Directors are elected to 4-year terms by the shareholders in their district. The function of our Board of Directors is to evaluate the overall direction and strategy of the cooperative business.
One of the most valuable responsibilities this group assumes is attending annual Board Tours, where directors travel to each of our locations - agronomy, energy, grain and swine & animal nutrition all included – and evaluates the facility conditions, reviews assets, visits with the operations teams and listens to their needs and goals for that specific site. All 20 of our directors participate in these tours and act as sounding boards to those who actively operate the facilities.
“Board tours are some of the most fulfilling activities I do as a director because I get the opportunity to meet and interact with the men and women at these branches and listen to their ideas and concerns about how to make their branch more efficient for their customer-owners,” says board Chairman Bill Peters. “And in the end, that’s what Keystone is about, helping our customers at every level.”
The tour is truly invaluable because it brings conversations to life that will determine the long-term success of the cooperative. The 2024 board tours recently wrapped up and the event in its entirety consisted of 14 days and 4,355 miles traveled to each of our 245 locations. Over the years, these events have expanded without excluding any locations, regardless of our footprint. This growth is driven by the unique commitment of Keystone’s President & CEO, Kevin Still, to stay connected with the entire employee team. His leadership and dedication ensure these events remain a vital and distinctive function of our board.
Bradley Baker, Agronomy Region Manager, has experienced board tours from several perspectives throughout his career with the cooperative. His position has evolved from an applicator to agronomy sales, location manager and now a region manager. “Board tours are opportunities to showcase our employees, equipment, the progress of the budget and discuss future assets for growth and efficiency gains,” shares Baker. “They inspire us to elevate our standards, uniting our team in a display of excellence that extends far beyond a single day.”
This is one of the many benefits of doing business with a farmer-owned cooperative, the ability to see growth at the local level, all for the benefit of the membership.
The conversations that happen between those who know the operations best and those who make long-range decisions are a direct reflection of our mission to Lead, Serve, Grow & Embrace our cooperative advantage. It’s from these visits that new equipment is purchased, offices are expanded, dry fertilizer hubs are built and dreams of liquid loadout terminals come to life.
“These tours truly speak to the power of the cooperative model and its commitment to improvement at the local level. They create the opportunity for our employees to communicate their wins, aspirations and needs to our locally elected Board, and it gives our Board the valued opportunity to visit candidly with employees about the future,” says Kevin Still. “Our board tours exemplify the cooperative model and keeps us deeply connected to our rural communities.”
Though the schedule of visiting this many locations across three states over a summer may seem like a grueling task, those involved argue otherwise. Some may call it better than the boardroom.
“What I gain is the opportunity to meet and talk with what I would call the ‘boots on the ground’, from the region managers to branch managers and employees, learning learn how their season has gone, what has worked well for them, and what hasn’t always worked well, and the ingenuity used to get the job done,” says Tom Tucker, Region 1 Director. “The board gets the opportunity to see the facilities and equipment, and what the needs are for capital expenditures, along with what the managers see as risks and opportunities in the coming years.”
This active “listening” tour is designed to keep a strong focus on the direction for a cooperative that covers a large trade area. Not every day can our Board see the day-to-day operations outside of the local location they call on for service, but this annual excursion allows the local experts to provide guidance to those who make the strategic decisions.
Keystone’s trade footprint is divided into five districts, and each district has representation from four Keystone board members. Directors are elected to 4-year terms by the shareholders in their district. The function of our Board of Directors is to evaluate the overall direction and strategy of the cooperative business.
One of the most valuable responsibilities this group assumes is attending annual Board Tours, where directors travel to each of our locations - agronomy, energy, grain and swine & animal nutrition all included – and evaluates the facility conditions, reviews assets, visits with the operations teams and listens to their needs and goals for that specific site. All 20 of our directors participate in these tours and act as sounding boards to those who actively operate the facilities.
“Board tours are some of the most fulfilling activities I do as a director because I get the opportunity to meet and interact with the men and women at these branches and listen to their ideas and concerns about how to make their branch more efficient for their customer-owners,” says board Chairman Bill Peters. “And in the end, that’s what Keystone is about, helping our customers at every level.”
The tour is truly invaluable because it brings conversations to life that will determine the long-term success of the cooperative. The 2024 board tours recently wrapped up and the event in its entirety consisted of 14 days and 4,355 miles traveled to each of our 245 locations. Over the years, these events have expanded without excluding any locations, regardless of our footprint. This growth is driven by the unique commitment of Keystone’s President & CEO, Kevin Still, to stay connected with the entire employee team. His leadership and dedication ensure these events remain a vital and distinctive function of our board.
Bradley Baker, Agronomy Region Manager, has experienced board tours from several perspectives throughout his career with the cooperative. His position has evolved from an applicator to agronomy sales, location manager and now a region manager. “Board tours are opportunities to showcase our employees, equipment, the progress of the budget and discuss future assets for growth and efficiency gains,” shares Baker. “They inspire us to elevate our standards, uniting our team in a display of excellence that extends far beyond a single day.”
This is one of the many benefits of doing business with a farmer-owned cooperative, the ability to see growth at the local level, all for the benefit of the membership.
The conversations that happen between those who know the operations best and those who make long-range decisions are a direct reflection of our mission to Lead, Serve, Grow & Embrace our cooperative advantage. It’s from these visits that new equipment is purchased, offices are expanded, dry fertilizer hubs are built and dreams of liquid loadout terminals come to life.
“These tours truly speak to the power of the cooperative model and its commitment to improvement at the local level. They create the opportunity for our employees to communicate their wins, aspirations and needs to our locally elected Board, and it gives our Board the valued opportunity to visit candidly with employees about the future,” says Kevin Still. “Our board tours exemplify the cooperative model and keeps us deeply connected to our rural communities.”
Though the schedule of visiting this many locations across three states over a summer may seem like a grueling task, those involved argue otherwise. Some may call it better than the boardroom.
“What I gain is the opportunity to meet and talk with what I would call the ‘boots on the ground’, from the region managers to branch managers and employees, learning learn how their season has gone, what has worked well for them, and what hasn’t always worked well, and the ingenuity used to get the job done,” says Tom Tucker, Region 1 Director. “The board gets the opportunity to see the facilities and equipment, and what the needs are for capital expenditures, along with what the managers see as risks and opportunities in the coming years.”
This active “listening” tour is designed to keep a strong focus on the direction for a cooperative that covers a large trade area. Not every day can our Board see the day-to-day operations outside of the local location they call on for service, but this annual excursion allows the local experts to provide guidance to those who make the strategic decisions.