|
Since the
inception of the International Milling Education Foundation, IAOM
Emeritus Member and past IAOM President Richard Ferrell has been a
regular supporter of the endowment.
“I was
initially prompted to make a direct personal donation to the IMEF due to
my conviction that the goals of the foundation are sound,” Ferrell
stated. “Then, as an alternate, I decided to make a donation in Dick
Bradford's name because I am convinced that Dick would have been a
strong supporter of the IMEF, had it been organized during his career in
the milling business.”
According to
Ferrell, Bradford came up through the old hands-on system of
learning-by-doing. Then, because of the educational opportunities
afforded by IAOM, Bradford was able to improve his qualifications in the
milling industry on a more formal basis.
“After he
became a supervisor and later a mill manager, he had the opportunity to
mentor and influence many Pillsbury millers – with some of them going on
to significant leadership roles in the IAOM.”
Ferrell was
one of the millers on whom Bradford had a direct impact.
“When I first
met Dick, he was at the Pillsbury Los Angeles Mill in Commerce, Calif.,
and he had already served as president of then AOM. I was a relatively
new member, and Dick encouraged me to volunteer as a district officer in
Minneapolis, which I later did.”
Ferrell said
that any time he saw Bradford over the years they would invariably talk
about the value of IAOM membership.
“His actions
were certainly as loud as his words: Dick regularly attended district
and national meetings throughout his career and into retirement.
“Being trained
as an engineer, you could say my opportunity to eventually become a
plant manager of a flour mill was directly linked to Dick and the IAOM
educational programs,” Ferrell continued. “And carrying this forward,
the production assignments and IAOM activity contributed to my later engineering
management opportunities. The education gained from association
activity gave me a broader understanding of milling and mill
management.”
Having worked
in the milling industry for over 30 years, Ferrell noted that all
aspects of the business went through considerable change in that period.
“Where the
path leads in the future, and how the overall business will be managed
is anyone's guess, but there will hopefully be a need to convert wheat
to flour, and if so, there will be a need to train those responsible
for the process. The IMEF can be one of the major sources of funding for
that training,” Ferrell emphasized.
“Individual
contributions are important to the IMEF's educational goals – and I plan
to continue to support the IMEF each year – but I believe that the IMEF
must receive significant international support from both mill facilities
and corporate offices to accomplish its goals,” Ferrell said. “The
benefits are potentially enormous for all concerned.
“As milling
technology expands, the need to provide expanded educational
programs for manufacturing operatives will be more important than ever,”
Ferrell continued. “I hope our contributions will significantly fund the
refinement of existing, and the development of new IAOM educational
programs and services.
“An IMEF
contribution is an easy way to honor a mentor and say, ’Thanks! I could
not have done it without you!’"
I would like to make a contribution to IMEF. |
