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The benefits of employee handbooks were touted during the third annual meeting of Mid American Ag and Hort Services in mid-March. Joan Ridgeway of Consulting Resources said employee handbooks offer a way for employers to fulfill certain legal requirements, communicate with employees and be consistent in how those employees are treated.

Services from Consulting Resources are a new benefit to members of MAAHS, as are services through PeopleWise, a firm that specializes in new-hire background checks and drug screening programs.

Ridgeway also presented information on how personality testing, specifically the Extended DISC, can help employers better understand and work with employees. She said personality testing gives businesses’ human resources professionals an opportunity to develop a benchmark for employees’ personalities, strengths and weaknesses.

Vic Holove from PeopleWise said background checks on new employees have become the norm. As of 2000, Holove said studies showed more than 36 percent of the information provided on a resume is falsified. Holove also answered questions on the drug screening program offered through PeopleWise.

During the organization’s third annual meeting, held at the Roberts Convention Center in Wilmington, Tom Demaline of Willoway Nurseries in Avon Lake was elected president; vice president is Michael Baise of Indiana Farm Bureau, Indianapolis; secretary is Tom Roney of Tuttle Orchards, Greenfield, Ind.; and treasurer is Mike Pullins of Ohio Farm Bureau. Elected to three-year terms on the MAAHS board of trustees were Lawrence Schmidt of Schmidt Bros. in Swanton, Ohio; Mike Adolph of K.W. Sellers and Son, Hartville, Ohio; Steve Carver of OFA - an Association of Floriculture Professionals, Columbus; and Baise.

MAAHS is a non-profit, membership-based consortium of associations, organizations and employers organized to meet the educational, regulatory compliance assistance and labor recruiting needs of agricultural and other employers in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Employers wanting more information can contact MAAHS at 614-246-8286, labor@ofbf.org or www.midamservices.org

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Members of the MAAHS board of trustees are (front l to r) Jack Schmidt, Timbuk Farms, Granville; Lisa Humphreys, Studebaker Nurseries, New Carlisle; Michael Baise, Indiana Farm Bureau, Indianapolis, Ind.; Tom Demaline, Willoway Nurseries, Avon; Tom Roney, Tuttle Orchards, Greenfield, Ind.; Tom Sachs, Ohio Vegetable and Potato Growers Association, Columbus; (back l to r) John Wargowsky, Mid American Ag and Hort Services, Columbus; Lawrence Schmidt, Schmidt Bros., Swanton; Michael Adolph, K.W. Zellers & Son, Hartville; Bill Stalter, Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association, Westerville; Mike Pullins, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Columbus; Richard Wander, Lynd Fruit Farm, Pastakala. Not pictured and serving on the board are Steve Carver, OFA - an Association of Floriculture Professionals, Columbus; and David Beck, Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, Louisville, Ky.