Avon, IN — West Alexandria resident Gene Tapalman has been elected to a four-year term as a director for Co-Alliance Cooperative, an Indiana-based agriculture and energy cooperative.
Tapalman, who represents District 3, has farmed for more than 50 years on this fourth-generation farm and is now semi-retired.
He has merged his 560-acre operation with that of a local, young producer and he assists him in many ways. Gene and wife JoEllen have three grown children and five grandchildren.
“It has been a wonderful experience in my thirty-plus years of serving on the local cooperative board to see the development of the co-op through organic growth, acquisitions and mergers, Tapalman said. “I am excited to serve on the Co-Alliance Board to best serve fellow farmer-members.”
Co-Alliance Cooperative has named 19 directors to represent the cooperative business, acting as the voice of the shareholders. These directors will represent 8 districts which service customers in Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan.
Board officers are as follows:
Tim Burke, Chairman, District 8, Monticello, IN; Bill Peters, Vice Chair, District 5, Sharpsville, IN; Tom Tucker, Secretary, District 2, Fountaintown, IN; and Jeremy Mills, Asst. Secretary/Asst. Treasurer, District 4, Indianapolis, IN.
Remaining Directors include:
District 1: Brian Becker, Middletown, IN and Rendell Miller, Decatur, IN; District 2: Bob Newhouse, Rushville, IN; District 3: Gene Tapalman, West Alexandria, OH and Scott Sease, Laura, OH; District 4: Greg Gore, Monrovia, IN, Kim Ames, Fillmore, IN, and Jason Summers, North Salem, IN; District 5: Gregg Alexander, Kempton, IN, and Brian Presnall, Fairmount, IN; District 6: Dave High, Decatur MI and Jerry Werner, Union Mills, IN; District 7: Allen Mohler, Lebanon, IN and Gary Hendrix, Jamestown, IN; and District 8: Chris Wiese, Reynolds, IN.
These directors were originally elected to this position by local shareholders prior to the February 1, 2021 merger of Co-Alliance, LLP and Harvest Land Co-op. This set of progressive farmers will be responsible for evaluating sustainability of the business, providing ethical governance and sound financial order of the cooperative. Their unique perspectives will offer insight from all corners of our trade territory.
The function of the Board of Directors is to evaluate the overall direction and strategy of the cooperative business, which has core divisions of Agronomy, Energy, Grain and Swine & Animal Nutrition.
