b"People, Product NewsLongtime Head Of PotatoBurial with full military honors will andtheDaleCarnegieleadershipGrowers Association Passe s beintheNorthDakotaVeterans for managers course.Cemetery,Mandan,NorthDakota,AformerExecutiveSecretary at a later date. Memorials are sug- Havingspentmyentirecareerat(President) of the NPPGA has passed gestedtoNorthDakotaVeterans thiscompany,Iamhonoredtoaway. Lloyd Arthur Schmidt, 82, of CemeteryFoundation,182546th move into this role of President &Springfield,Missouri,passedaway Street,Mandan,NorthDakota CEO. Starting as an administrativein January. 58554. assistantandworkingmywaythroughvariouspartsofthebusi-SchmidtledtheRedRiverValley Carissa Olsen Named New nessfoodsafety,HR,employeePotatoGrowersAssociation,now President And CEO Of NoKota safety,growerrelations,shippingknownasNorthernPlainsPotato Packers and billing and accountinghaveGrowers Association, from 1973 to helped me immensely with the nuts1994. In that role, Lloyd was very Carissa Olsen has assumed duties as andboltsofthebusinessopera-activeadvocatingfortheassocia- PresidentandCEOofNoKota tions, Olsen said. My father, whotion'sgrowersonlocal,state,and PackersInc.inBuxton,North will retire at the end of this season,national level. Dakota following the retirement of wasNoKotasfirstemployee,soISteve Tweten in December. NoKota grewuparoundthebusiness,fol-Beforeheadingthisassociation, Packers is a third-generation packer lowing him while he worked in theLloyd served two years in the U.S. and shipper of red potatoes in the plantandtouringpotatofields.Army,workedfortheU.S.Post Red River Valley. PairingmyexperienceinvariousOfficeandfortheFergusFalls roles with my knowledge of the his-Chamber of Commerce.Olsen assumed the role of COO in tory and current operations has pre-February 2017 following six years as pared me thoroughly for this posi-Afterleavingthepotatogrowers directorofoperations.Shejoined tion.association in 1994, Lloyd launched thecompany15yearsagoasanacareerasaprivateinvestigator, administrative assistant. During her TwetencommentedonOlsenswhich he truly enjoyed. career at NPI, Olsen has been active appointment:Ihavewatchedin the community with leadership CarissagrowupatNoKota.IamLloydwasborninHarvey,North roles,includingchurchcouncil confidentshewillcontinuetobeDakota,onFebruary17,1937,to trustee, president of daycare board, innovative with our operation whileArthur L. and Lydia (Lutz) Schmidt. presidentofboosterclubs,and preservingNoKotascommitmentIn 1960, Lloyd married Valory Matz treasurer of H509 scholarship board.to our employees, growers, and cus-andtheyadoptedtwochildren: tomers.Arthurin1966,andLynettein OlsengraduatedSummaCum1968. In 1987, Lloyd married Janice LaudefromMayvilleState Mike Rerick, Vice-President of salesDahlstrominGrandForks,North University with a bachelors degree and marketing and Steve Johnson,Dakota. in business education in 2003. She sales, will continue in their currentisalsoagraduateoftheDale roles with NoKota Packers.Lloyd'sfuneralwasheldin Carnegie business immersion courseSpringfield,MissouriinJanuary.28 POTATO GROWER MARCH 2020"