ACE 2024 awards honor ethanol industry contributors
During its 37th annual conference, the American Coalition for Ethanol honored industry advocates in Omaha. John Christianson received the Merle Anderson Award for his pivotal role in ethanol plant development, particularly with Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company and Biofuels Benchmarking™. Jeff Carpenter was awarded the Paul Dana Marketing Vision Award for his work with the USDA’s HBIIP, aiding small retailers in adopting higher ethanol blends.
The American Coalition for Ethanol honored a select group of advocates for their contributions to the ethanol industry during its 37th annual conference this month in Omaha.
The Merle Anderson Award, named after the organization’s founder, went to John Christianson of Christianson PLLP this year. ACE CEO Brian Jennings, along with ACE board president Dave Sovereign, representing Golden Grain Energy, and ACE board member Ron Alverson, 2023 recipient of the Merle Anderson Award, representing Dakota Ethanol, presented the award to John.
As a young, certified public accountant in the early 1980s, John gained experience and made meaningful connections during the challenging farm crisis years. In the 1990s, he was approached by a group of local farmers wanting financial consulting to start an ethanol plant, one of the first in Minnesota, Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company. The launch was a success. Soon Christianson & Associates was known as part of the ‘Minnesota Model’ and was supporting ethanol start-ups and clients across the nation. His company was instrumental in developing dozens of ethanol plants during the construction boom of the 2000s. John was influential in developing and delivering Biofuels Benchmarking™ for ethanol plants to access industry data, insights and reports.
“Receiving the American Coalition for Ethanol Merle Anderson Award is true honor,” Christianson said. “The majority of my career has been dedicated to supporting renewable energy and the future of farming. This award is a testament to the team I work with every day who are dedicated to making a difference. In the ethanol industry, where every drop represents a step towards a cleaner, greener planet, this honor is a reminder that the work we do today lays the foundation for a better tomorrow.”
John left his managing partner role at the firm to become a director in 2021. He is also the President at Beyond, A Christianson Company. Beyond offers software solutions connecting plant operations and accounting. Additionally, he is a member of the Minnesota Governor’s Biofuels Council and a current board member and Treasurer of ACE.
Prior to the retailer panel during the conference, Ron Lamberty, ACE chief marketing officer (CMO), presented the Paul Dana Marketing Vision Award to Jeff Carpenter, USDA Rural Development program manager of the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP). Carpenter’s work providing convenience store owners and operators of all sizes with hands-on assistance navigating the HBIIP application process has helped many of the small retailers ACE typically works with apply for grants to begin offering higher ethanol blends to their customers. In addition, Carpenter’s efforts promoting HBIIP and gathering feedback from prospective retailers at fuel industry events, along with ongoing conversations with ACE and other ethanol stakeholders about HBIIP challenges and opportunities, help him keep USDA updated on ways to make the program more accessible, particularly for single stores and small chains that own and operate 60% of the fuel retail sites in the U.S.
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Source Link : https://ethanolproducer.com/articles/ace-2024-awards-honor-ethanol-industry-contributors
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