Three Agribusiness Leaders Chosen as Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation Invitational HonoreesPublished on 06/04/2008
David O. Miller Miller has provided leadership in agribusiness and cooperative development at home and abroad. He was involved in a variety of activities with the Licking County Farm Bureau, leading to service as a member of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) board of trustees from 1970 to 1985, where he served as president from 1983 to 1985. During his tenure, he helped create buying cooperatives for specialty crop farmers, mediated a successful merger between two regional co-ops, and supported the development of one of the first ethanol plants in the United States that included ownership from the agricultural sector. He became a member of Nationwide Insurance Company's board of directors in 1985. He has served on the boards of several affiliated Nationwide Enterprise companies, including Nationwide Life and Annuity, Nationwide Mutual, Nationwide Mutual Fire, Nationwide Corporation and the Nationwide Foundation; as well as board chairman of two other Nationwide affiliates, the Scottsdale Insurance Company and Nationwide Life. Miller continues to serve on the Nationwide Financial Services Board following his 2008 retirement. As a leader with the National Cooperative Business Association, Miller helped organize the American Cooperative Enterprise Center and Cooperative Business International. He was also elected to the board of the International Cooperative Alliance, served as the prominent global ambassador for U.S. cooperatives, and was inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame. Miller has been the President of Owen Potato Farm, Inc. since 1962, and has been actively involved in real estate development as a partner of Newark Properties LTD, and as a partner of M&M Enterprises. He and his wife, Teresa, also enjoy a winter home in Florida. James Patterson James (Jim) Patterson has been active in numerous community service and agribusiness activities, having served as a Geauga County commissioner from 1969 to 1982, as well as a member of several state government committees and working groups. He was elected to the OFBF board of trustees in 1979 and was president from 1985 to 1989. He is a past president of the Ohio Fruit Growers Society and former chairman of the Farm Credit Bank of Louisville's board of trustees. Patterson has also served as a trustee of the University Hospitals of Cleveland and chairman of the Geauga Hospital board of trustees. Patterson became a member of the Nationwide Insurance Company's board of directors in 1989. He has served on the boards of several affiliated Nationwide Enterprise companies, including chairmanship of the Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company. He retired from the Nationwide Insurance Board in 2008, and continues to serve on the Nationwide Financial Services Board. A 1964 graduate of Ohio State University, Patterson has served on local and regional alumni organizations, as well as the College of Agriculture representative on the Alumni Advisory Council. He has provided leadership on state-level support councils for the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and Ohio State University Extension. He has also served as a member of Ohio State University’s board of trustees, and was inducted into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Nancy, own Patterson Fruit Farm along with their two sons, David and J. William, who represent the sixth generation of the family involved in Ohio Agriculture. In addition to producing apples for sale at their farm market, the Pattersons make freshly pressed apple cider. Pick-your-own strawberries are available each spring, and the farm offers a seven-week Family Fun Fest each autumn. Arden Shisler Arden Shisler has been an active leader, supporting local agriculture and business development. The Ohio State University graduate and U.S. Army veteran served as a consultant, chief operating officer, and president and chief executive officer of K&B Transport, Inc. between 1984 and 2002. As an active member of the Wayne County Farm Bureau, his interest and involvement led to election to the OFBF Board of Trustees, where he served as vice president. Shisler became a board member of Nationwide in 1984, and board chairman of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, the parent company of the Nationwide organization, in 1992. He retired from the Nationwide Board in 2008, and continues to serve on the Nationwide Financial Services Board. His career highlights include serving as president of the Ohio Agricultural Marketing Association, and a board member of the Ohio Trucking Association, the Ohio Trucking Safety Council and the Wilderness Center. He also served as a director of the National Cooperative Business Association in Washington, D.C. Shisler and his wife, Clarice, represent more than six generations of the Shisler family living, working and serving communities in Wayne County. The Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 public charitable organization that supports agricultural education, ecological research and economic development initiatives benefiting Ohio communities. The organization’s annual Golf Invitational honors leaders in science, business and community service whose careers and accomplishments personify Foundation objectives. Proceeds of the event are used to support the organization’s Community Grantsmanship and scholarship programs. For more information on the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation, visit the organization’s Web site at www.ofbfoundation.org. | |
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation (Foundation) is pleased to announce three Ohio agribusiness leaders, David O. Miller of Hebron, James Patterson of Chesterland and Arden Shisler of Dalton, will be recognized as honorees at the organization’s annual golf invitational. A recognition program will be held in conjunction with the event at the Jefferson Golf and Country Club in Blacklick on Monday, June 23.