Mike Connealy Named President of ProAg
4/17/08
ProAg is pleased to announce Mike Connealy has been named President. In addition to his current title of Chief Operating Officer; as President Mike will assume all responsibilities for the day-to-day operations of the company. Former President and Chief Executive Officer Ben Latham will serve as Chairman and CEO. Mike has been COO of ProAg since his hiring in May of 2006.
Ben Latham commented, “I have known Mike for more than twenty years and am very pleased that he is the first non-Latham to hold the title of President of our company. Since Mike agreed to join us as our Chief Operating Officer two years ago, the company has more than doubled in premium volume. We all look forward to watching Mike guide our company into the future.”
Mike will continue to office in Maple Grove, Minnesota and can be reached at 800-857-4497 or mc@proag.com.
Download News Release
9/12/07
ProAg Announces Grant Adams as General Counsel
ProAg is pleased to announce the addition of Grant Adams to its Executive Management team. Grant will serve as Executive Vice President and General Counsel and will report to Ben Latham. Grant has spent the last 13 years in private practice at Underwood, Wilson, Berry, Stein & Johnson in Amarillo specializing in areas of labor and employment law, commercial litigation, insurance defense, and crop insurance. Grant’s legal and business expertise will further help ProAg define and maintain best practices across every level of company operations.
Grant graduated with a B.B.A. from the University of Texas in 1990 and with a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1994 with honors. He has a wife Katie, daughters Maggie and Olivia, and a son Olliver. Grant will office in Amarillo and can be reached at grant@proag.com.
April 13, 2007
ProAg is pleased to announce the promotion of three people to the position of Regional Claims Manager
Byrum Cloud has been named Regional Claims Manager of the SE USA claims region for ProAg.
Noel Sylvester has been named Regional Claims Manager for the Central Plains claims region for ProAg.
David Bousselot has been named Regional Claims Manager for the Midwest claims region for ProAg.
Byrum Cloud brings over 20 years of crop insurance experience to this position. He will manage the claims for ProAg in his home state of Florida plus Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina. Reporting to Byrum will be Dan Wood, II and Lewis Igou. Byrum can be reached at bcloud@proag.com.
Noel Sylvester has been in the crop insurance business since 1978. He will manage claims for ProAg in his home state of Kansas plus Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, parts of Oklahoma, and part of Arkansas. Reporting to Noel will be Bruce Kirkendall, Justin Madsen and Darrell Ury. Noel can be reached at nsylvester@proag.com.
Dave Bousselot brings 12 years of crop insurance experience to this position. He will manage claims for ProAg in his home state of Iowa plus North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Reporting to Dave will be Ron Ness, Ron Lundblad, Jeff Cameron, Nate Behounek and Dwayne Van Emmerik. Dave can be reached at dbousselot@proag.com.
March 22, 2007
Bob Dow Accepts National Compliance Manager Position
ProAg is pleased to announce that Bob Dow has accepted the position of National Compliance Manager effective immediately.
Bob has accumulated 19 years of management experience in various parts of the agriculture industry. He has been involved in crop insurance the past nine years including that past five years as part of the ProAg team.
Bob's responsibilities with ProAg have included a wide array of claims and compliance issues and he has been especially focused on the development and training on the LASS system for claims processing.
Bob grew up on a small farm in Clay County, Illinois. He graduated in 1964 from Flora High School and in 1968 from the University of Illinois. After college, Bob spent several years teaching ag education at the high school level. Bob and his wife Kaye still live in the Xenia, Illinois area and are kept busy by their six children and six grandsons.
Bob will continue to work out of ProAg's Robinson, Illinois location and can be reached at bdow@proag.com.
to the top
Scott Graves & Paul Lassey Accept Regional Marketing Manager Positions
6/11/07
We are pleased to announce that Scott Graves and Paul Lassey have accepted the role of Regional Marketing Managers for their respective regions, effective June 1, 2007. Scott will be reporting to Missy Waters and will be supervising all Field Representatives in the Lenexa Region. Paul will be reporting to Bill Haar and will be supervising all Field Representatives in the Fresno Region.
Scott and Paul have done an outstanding job of providing professional marketing and service support to key accounts and agencies in their former role as Special Account Representatives.
Please join us in congratulating both Scott and Paul on their new positions.
December 15, 2006
ProAg Opens New Company Store
We at ProAg are pleased to announce today the opening of our ProStore. ProAg has arranged for an inventory of top-of-the-line merchandise to be available to anyone who might like to purchase clothing and promotional items with the always sharp-looking ProAg logo. Most orders will be shipped within a day of processing and large orders will take only about three weeks. Every item in the store is of the highest quality and all of it is sold at cost.
Also be on the lookout for ProStore Gift Cards. ProStore Gift Cards come in $50 increments and can be won as door prizes at many ProAg trainings and events.
Should you or your agency desire to order a large quantity of ProAg merchandise, perhaps co-branded with your agency logo or if you have any questions about the ProStore, please contact Marcy Gandy at mgandy@proag.com.
Begin shopping now—http://proag.outerwearusa.com/
December 15, 2006
Tim Verbrugge, Executive Vice President Announces Lana Sheforgen has Joined the ProAg Team
Lana Sheforgen joins ProAg as a Data Base Reconciliation Specialist. Lana brings 20 years of crop insurance experience to her position. She previously worked as a project manager, AS400 Programmer, and a software developer. Lana lives in St. Francis, Minnesota and will work out of our Maple Grove office. You can contact Lana at lanas@proag.com.
to the top
December 12, 2006
ProAg Announces New Appointment for Bryan Barbee
Benson Latham today announced that Bryan Barbee has accepted the position of National Training Coordinator. Bryan has worked for ProAg as Regional Vice-President in Robinson, IL for five years and has 24 years experience in the Crop Insurance Industry. Bryan’s experience with ProAg and excellence as a trainer will serve him well in his interaction with all regions and departments within the company. He will report to Kendall Jones. Please direct any questions to Bryan at bbarbee@proag.com or to Kendall Jones at kendall@proag.com.
December 9, 2006
ProAg Announces Regional Claims Manager Appointment
National Claims Manager—Carroll Dunn announced today that Rob Young has joined ProAg as Regional Claims Manager. Mr. Young can be reached at ryoung@proag.com. Additional details on this exciting development will be forthcoming. Any questions or comments on this item, please feel free to contact Carroll Dunn at cdunn@proag.com, Benson Latham at benson@proag.com or Mike Connealy at mc@proag.com.
to the top
December 8, 2006
Terry Peniston, Regional Vice President Announces New Staff for Regional Office
ProAg Regional Vice President Terry Peniston announced the addition of seven new field and office staff members for his regional office in Lexington, Kentucky. ProAg, a premier provider of specialized crop insurance products and services, announced earlier this week the hiring of Mr. Peniston and his plans for the new office.
New staff members include long time industry professionals—
- Linda Miller who will be one of our Field Representatives serving Ohio/Michigan
- Robin Speakman who will also be a Field Representative serving Michigan/Ohio
- Larry Copes who will be a Field Representative serving Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi
- Darren Chase who will be a Field Representative serving Indiana
- Jimmy Armistead who will be a Field Representative servicing Tennessee/Kentucky
- J.R. Estes who will be our Lead Underwriter
- Katie Smith who will be serve as our Administrative Support
ProAg is a dedicated writer of federally sponsored MPCI and private Crop Hail Insurance. For more than 80 years, Producers Ag has provided personal service to farmers and agents while becoming an industry leader in the technology so critical to today’s marketplace. ProAg believes long-term business partnerships with farmers, agents and reinsurers allow the company to deliver a consistency of service unmatched in the crop insurance industry. ProAg is the 9th-largest writer of MPCI and the 6th-largest writer of crop hail coverage in the country. For more information, visit www.proag.com.
To reach new staff members—
Additional details on this exciting development will be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks. Any questions or comments on this item, please feel free to contact Terry Peniston at tpeniston@proag.com, Benson Latham at benson@proag.com or Mike Connealy at mc@proag.com.
to the top
November 27, 2006
ProAg Adds Terry Peniston as Regional Vice President
ProAg is pleased to announce that we have hired long time industry professional Terry Peniston as a Regional Vice President. Terry will be opening a regional office for ProAg in his home town of Lexington, Kentucky. Additional details on this exciting development will be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks. Any questions or comments on this item, please feel free to contact Benson Latham at benson@proag.com or Mike Connealy at mc@proag.com.
