The Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) presented the association awards at its annual meeting in September 2022.
MACA’s Industry Vision Award was presented to Susanne Wasson, formerly with Corteva Agriscience.
The award is presented to an individual who’s devoted their career to promoting and protecting the interests of the entire crop protection industry, which supports American and Midwestern agriculture, and has shown leadership roles within their company and in other industry-wide organizations.
Susanne Wasson retired in 2022 from Corteva Agriscience (legacy Dow Agrosciences) after a distinguished career of 32 years. Most recently her role at Corteva was President of the Crop Protection Business Platform. Prior to serving in that role, she held various roles in Finance, Sales & Marketing and Leadership, both in the U.S. and internationally.
Susanne is passionate about agriculture and has been very involved in the industry where she served as the 44th Chair of the CropLife America Board of Directors. In 2018, Susanne was the Sponsor’s Board Chairman for the National FFA Organization.
Giving back is also very important to Susanne. She has been instrumental in establishing student scholarships at her alma mater, Oklahoma State University. She is active with Indiana Humanities, United Way, and many other organizations.
Since this award was first presented in 1982 by MACA, Susanne is the first woman to receive it, but being a pioneer for female leadership in the ag industry is nothing new for Susanne. In summary, Susanne is a talented leader, is a mentor to many, and has been influential in the agricultural industry in many ways.
The Dean Roy Achievement Award was presented to Doug Mertens, FMC. The award is named in honor of one of the organization’s founders, for “Exceptional Service to MACA and the CropLife Industry,” for their contributions of selfless service.
A long-time member of MACA, Mertens has been active in the CropLife Ambassador program volunteering as a speaker for many years. He was named Ambassador of the Year in 2003, then he kept speaking to students and in 2018 was named the Ambassador of the Decade in 2018. He continues to make presentations and is passionate about the program. He drives around the state of Missouri to make presentations (pre-covid and is anxious to get back in classroom).
Currently, Doug is co-chair of the Young Leader Scholarship Program (YLSP) and is excited to be working with the college students. Since becoming involved with MACA in the early 2000s, he’s recruited people to become involved in MACA, he’s served on the Executive Committee, chaired the Industry Communications Committee which oversees the ambassador program, and Young Leader Scholarship Program.
He has helped to secure sponsorships for the YLS program and the annual meeting. He’s willing to assist with these programs whenever possible.
Schmidt says, “Doug is willing to pitch in and help. He is passionate about agriculture, enjoys talking with his customers and colleagues and talking about what is going on in the market. He’s comfortable in the field, in the office or in a classroom. For more than 20 years, Doug has been involved with MACA and the industry. He’s a true believer in giving back to agriculture and the importance of sharing why agriculture is important to everyone. He’s a person you can count on to do what’s best for MACA and the industry. He does it quietly without fanfare.”
Doug Mertens, lives in Columbia, Missouri, and is the 41st person to receive the Dean Roy Achievement Award.
