New director, chairman elected to MFA Incorporated board

CATTLE PRODUCER GARY MCCLURE is the newest mem­ber of MFA Incorporated’s Board of Directors, representing District 13 in south-central Missouri. He was elected during the district delegate meeting held March 7 in Houston.

McClure runs a 100-head cow/calf operation and raises 150 acres of hay near Lebanon, Mo. He’s been a member of MFA since 1983 and serves on the local Farmers Produce Exchange board. He is also a delegate for MFA Oil Compa­ny and a member of the LaClede County Developmental Center board.

“MFA has always been a big part of my life,” McClure said. “In fact, my first job was loading feed on the dock at MFA here in Lebanon. I’m honored to be elected to the MFA Incorporated board, and I think it’s going to be a great experience to see what goes on across the state and learn from other people’s perspectives. MFA is such a vast orga­nization and deals with so many facets of agriculture, and I’m looking forward to helping connect the farmers in our district to all the resources it has to offer.”

He and his wife, Karen, have two children—Kyle, who also raises beef cattle near the fam­ily’s farm, and Krenda Wade, a teacher and track coach in the Lebanon R-3 School District—and one granddaughter, 2-year-old Karis Wade.

McClure replaces Wayne Nichols of Pomona, whose term ended in March. Nichols has served as chairman of the board for the past five years and is succeeded by Don Schlesselman of Concordia, who officially assumed his leadership role Jan. 31. Schlesselman was also re-elected as District 5 director during the recent delegate meetings.

Also re-elected to their positions on the MFA board were Frank Schieber of Stanberry, District 1; Craig Lambert of Pattonsburg, District 4; and Dwayne Schad of Versailles, District 8. Members of the corporate board are eligible to serve three-year terms and are limited to four consecutive terms.

In addition to elections, the March meetings in each of MFA’s 14 districts gave farmer-owners a chance to learn about the cooperative’s financial progress, hear from management and operating divisions and get updates on highlights from their respective regions.