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| Rep. John Shimkus, left, accepts the NCGA President's Award from NCGA President Leon Corzine. |
NCGA Honors Rep. John Shimkus with
President’s Award (7-14-05)
The
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) today presented Rep. John
Shimkus (R-Ill.) with its prestigious 2005 President’s Award
for his active support and leadership on key grower issues.
“Rep. Shimkus was
chosen to receive this award because he has truly been a good friend
of agriculture for many years,” said NCGA President Leon Corzine,
an Assumption, Ill., corn grower. “On committees where he
is often the only agricultural representative, Rep. Shimkus has
taken a leadership role and championed our efforts. He has been
there for all corn growers.”
Shimkus accepted the
award before a crowd of nearly 200 corn growers attending NCGA’s
Corn Congress.
"I look forward
to continuing to work with the corn growers on many issues including
support for ethanol in the energy bill, the farm bill, locks and
dams, the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center, which I visited
earlier this week, and opening trade. Thank
you for this honor," said Rep. Shimkus.
Corzine noted Shimkus
has been particularly supportive on ethanol issues, such as the
establishment of the National Corn to Ethanol Pilot Plant at Southern
Illinois University-Edwardsville, which will bring forward new technologies
for the ethanol industry, as well as inclusion of the renewable
fuels standard (RFS) in the energy bill.
“Rep. Shimkus has
also led corn growers’ efforts to move forward the Water Resources
Development Act and lock modernization, and has been a principal
component in getting the Central American Dominican Republic Free
Trade Agreement passed in the House,” Corzine concluded. “In
doing all this, Rep. Shimkus is truly the type of person that represents
not only his district but also has a vision for what we need in
national policy.”
Previous recipients of
NCGA’s President’s Award include former Congressman
Charlie Stenholm (D-Texas); Leo Liebowitz, chairman and CEO of Getty
Petroleum Marketing, Inc.; Sens. Kit Bond (R-Mo), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa),
Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), and George Voinovich (R-Ohio); former
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.); and House Speaker Dennis
Hastert (R-Ill.).