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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 64 POTATO GROWER4 POTATO GROWER Northern Plains Well Represented At Potato Expo by Ted Kreis NPPGA Marketing and Communications Director Contributions from NDSU the Thiele family and the US Potato Board Potato Expo 2016 was held in Las Vegas the first week of January. The event is the largest gathering for the potato industry in North America bringing together more than 1900 growers suppliers and industry part- ners including 84 from North Dakota and 56 from Minnesota. Hundreds of storylines come from an event this large but we will cover just a few most with local significance. Once again our region brought home a couple major awards Neil Gudmestad was named the Potato Man for All Seasons and Orvil Gilleshammer was posthumously awarded the NPC Seed Grower of the Year. Both men were nominated by the Northern Plains Potato Growers Association Board of Directors. Gudmestad Award The Potato Man for All Seasons award was presented to Dr. Neil Gudmestad at the National Potato Council Annual Meeting. The award is sponsored by The Packer magazine and recognizes an individual for out- standing lifetime achievements in the potato industry. Neil was raised on his familys farm near Litchville North Dakota and attended nearby Valley City State University. The 1974 graduate of VCSU was later named a Distinguished Alumnus of that school. After graduating from Valley City State Neil went on to North Dakota State University NDSU in Fargo and received his MS degree in Plant Pathology in 1978. It was during this time that he began his career-long work with potatoes. As a graduate stu- dent he was appointed interim coordi- nator of the potato pathology pro- gram at NDSU until a new faculty member was hired to replace Dr. Joe Huguelet. Neil also worked as a plant pathologist at the North Dakota State Seed Department for the next four years while simultaneously studying for his PhD degree in the Plant Pathology Department at NDSU. His duties at the North Dakota State Seed Department were regulatory and included field inspections and lab testing for seed certification of North Dakota seed potato fields. Neil received his PhD degree in 1982. He worked as a post- doctoral Research Associate in the Plant Pathology Department at NDSU for two years until June 1985. With the support of the seed potato industry a seed potato pathologist position was funded by the legislature in the Plant Pathology Department. The potato industry in North Dakota made it clear that they wanted Neil to occupy this position. It was during this time Neil began his stellar research program in potato science. He became an Associate Professor in 1989 a Professor in 1996 and a University Distinguished Professor in 2007. A University Distinguished Professor is the highest honor NDSU can bestow upon a faculty member. Dr. Gudmestads now has 37 years of experience working with the potato and the potato industry including 29 years as a faculty member. Neil has had numerous graduate students and has been an excellent instructor Neil Gudmestad left accepts the Potato Man for All Seasons award from Tom Karst of The Packer.