NAF News

Meet the People of NAF

PETER H. (PETE) OLSEN JR.

Pete Olsen, Fallon Dairyman, was elected at the April 2009 annual meeting of the Nevada Agricultural Foundation as the Foundation's President. He had filled the remaining term of Mike Compston who had earlier resigned for business reasons. Pete served on the NAF Board of Directors for a number of years previously. He brings a great deal of experience about the dairy industry to his new position. He is a third generation Nevada dairyman now operating an 1800 cow Fallon dairy along with his brothers. Both his father and grandfather were dairymen with the original operation in Sparks. He is a graduate of Churchill County High School and attended the University of Nevada, Reno. Two years ago Pete lost his wife Debra. The couple were blessed with seven children. In the past, Pete has also held various NAF Committee assignment and chairmanships. Olsen has served in leadership roles as a member of a number of agricultural organizations.

JOE GUILD

Guild was voted by the Foundation to serve as its Vice President. He has served on the Board of Directors for a number of years and brings a knowledge of the Foundation's mission and accomplishments to his new role. Joe has contributed to Nevada and the Nation's agricultural leadership. Guild, a Reno Attorney, is a fifth generation Nevadan whose family has resided in western Nevada since the 1850's. The son of a well known and respected Reno attorney, he attended Reno elementary, middle and high schools and received his bachelor's degree from UNR. Joe's law degee was earned at McGeorge Law School in Sacramento,CA. He began pratice in Reno 1982. He is a past President (1999-2001) of the Nevada Cattlemen's Assoc. and spent a four year term as Chairman of the Taxes and Credit Committee, National Cattlemen's Beef Assoc. He and wife Catherine have five children.

MIKE COMPSTON

Compston who resides in Wellington is NAF Immediate Past President. He served a partial term in the office but business interests necessitated his resignation. Mike like Joe Guild is a fifth generation Nevadan whose family has long held ranch properties in Smith Valley. Compston served as Chairman of the Nevada Dairy Commission but now is involved in a major dairy enterprise. He is a graduate of UNR's College of Agriculture. He and wife Jacquie have two daughters and four grandchildren. Mike served for many years as a 4-H Leader, is a past president of the Smith Valley Rotary Club, and the California Nevada Hereford Association.

SUE HOFFMAN

Executive Director/Secretary of the Nevada Agricultural Foundation is Sue Hoffman of Reno. She directs all hands on NAF business. She has long been a NAF Trustee and became a Board member in 2005. Hoffman retired in 2004 as State 4-H Activities Manager for Cooperative Extension at UNR after 21 years of service, the last 17 of which were in her position at retirement. She began work for Cooperative Extension in 1977 as Extension Livestock Specialist in Washoe County. She was the first woman livestock Specialist in Nevada and probably the country. Sue grew up in Redmond Oregon, receiving a BS degree, 1975, from Oregon State University in Animal Science. She followed this with a MS degree, 1977, in Animal Science and Nutrition from the University of Nevada, Reno. Following four years working for Extension she resigned to help the family business in Springfield, Oregon but in 1987 returned to UNR.

VERN HEPPNER

NAF Treasurer Vern Heppner has been involved in the accounting profession as a CPA in Reno, Nevada for over 50 years. He has operated his own business and has been associated with others. He grew up on a farm in Montana and still has relatives working in agriculture. He graduated from Golden State University in San Francisco with a BA in Accounting and is a past member of the Nevada Society of Certified Public Accountants. He has been very active in Lions Club activities.

OUR DIRECTORS (all officers plus the following)

DAVE ARMSTRONG

Named to join tha NAF Board at its 2007 meetings was Dave Armstrong of Reno. A native Nevadan, Dave grew up in the Fernley area in a rural and agricultural environment working with livestock and other associated jobs. He attended local schools and enrolled at UNR but then in 1980 transferred to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He graduated in 1983 with a BS degree in Agricultural Business Management. During this time he served an internship with with Farm Credit, a Federal Land Bank agricultural lending association which works with farmers and ranchers. During his senior year at Cal Poly he was hired by Farm Credit and has been with them for 25 years. He was hired for work in Nevada and now lives in Washoe Valley. Armstrong and wife Tracy have two children a daughter and a son.

FRANK BISHOP

Also one of the newer Board members is Frank Bishop. He is currently the COO of the Park Cattle Company in Minden. He grew up on a ranch near Alturas, California, attended local schools and in 1975 graduated from Cal State University, Sacramento earning a BS Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in finance and a minor in Economics. He worked in the Farm Credit system in California prior to moving to Reno in 1988 to serve as joint CEO and President of the Sierra Nevada Production Credit Association (PCA) and the Intermountain Federal Land Bank Association. He remained in Reno until 2004 when he retired from AgCredit Financial ACA with 30 years total service in the Farm Credit system. Frank and wife Lee now live in Minden where Frank is a director of Carson River Community Bank and is active in the Business Council of Douglas County.

TOM CATES

Tom Cates of Reno joined the NAF Board Of Directors also in 2007. He has had previous experience with the Foundation serving as a Trustee. He fills an existing vacancy on the Board. Born in California, Tom moved to Reno in 1962. He attended local schools and graduated from UNR in 1969 with a BS Degree in Animal Science with a minor in Agricultural Economics. While attending college and at other times in a 16 year span he worked for Ray Nyswonger on the Double Diamond Ranch in Reno. The ranch produced quality Angus cattle and Quarter Horses. Tom,however, spent 31 years in Education. He was a Reno elementary school teacher, Outdoor Education Coordinator for the Washoe Co. Schools for 22 years and Administrator of the systems Regional Technical Institute (vocational training)prior to retirement. He has been a longtime member of the Reno Rodeo Association, serving as President in 2004. He and wife Phyliss live in Reno and have two sons.

DAVE MATHIS

Dave has been associated with NAF since 1988. He first did PR for the Foundation as a paid contributor. This lasted two years until he was elected to the NAF Board of Directors. He has volunteered all services since. Both grandfathers came to Nevada around 1900 and both engaged in farming and ranching. He was born in Ely and grew up in the Consolidated Coppermines Corporation town of Kimberly where his father was Chief Chemist (Assayer) for the company. Dave graduated from White Pine Hi in 1947, spent 18 months in the U.S. Army, enrolled at UNR in 1949 and earned a B.A. Degree in Journalism in 1954 and an MA, UNR, in Journalism 1973. He first worked for a Reno weekly newspaper, then spent 11 years with the Nevada Dept. of Wildlife and later retired from the UNR College of Agriculture after 21 years of Service. He and wife Carolyn have two sons both living in Reno and eight grandchildren.

RICHARD A. MCDOUGAL

Richard (Dick) McDougal is a past President of NAF and an experienced Board member. He is President of Nevada Nile Ranch Inc. of Lovelock, a large farming enterprise. He is a former President of the National Cattlemen's Association (1978-79) and a past Chairman, 1978-84, of the Farm Credit Bank of Sacramento, California. He is a graduate of the University Of California at Davis with a BS degree in Agricultural Economics. He joined with his father in the California feedlot business and in 1968 they moved to Lovelock when they purchased the historic Nevada Nile Operation. He and wife Florence reside in Lovelock.

JAMES R. MORGAN

Jim Morgan of Yerington is the newest member of the NAF Board, and an alfalfa grower. He grew up in southern California around the San Bernardino area where he remembers orange groves flourishing during the 1950's and '60's. He attended local schools and then enrolled at USC where he majored in Industrial Management. He worked in this area but soon joined with others to form a manufacturing company that created and produced a device to scan and read bar codes on all manor of containers and equipment. In 1994 he sold out and moved to Yerington. He is a member of the Nevada Alfalfa Growers and the Nevada Farm Bureau. His wife Gail is a NAF trustee. The couple have three children, two sons and a daughter. One son is a Orthopedic Surgeon living in Colorado, the other a West Point graduate. The daughter lives in southern, California.

GAIL MUNK

Gail Munk of Lovelock stepped down as NAF Executive Director/Secretary after six years (2001-2007) but remains on the NAF Board of Directors. He is a Lovelock native currently self-employed with Nevada Biological Services, an agricultural consulting business. Munk is a 1961 graduate of the UNR College of Agriculture with a BS Degree in General Agriculture. He began his career with UNR's Cooperative Extension working as an Assistant County Agent in Lyon County then as a County Agent in Lincoln, Douglas and Pershing Counties retiring in 1994. He left Extension work, 1974-88, to work for the Lovelock Seed Company becoming General Manager in 1981 and serving as such until 1988 when the Company was sold. Munk finished out his career as Pershing County Extension Agent. He and wife Jeannie have two grown children.

FINANCIAL ADVISOR AND CONSULTANT

MARK ELSTON

Mark Elston of Wachovia Securities in Reno is NAF Financial Advisor, a Trustee and general consultant. Elston has served NAF in this role for a number of years. He is a native Nevadan, a UNR Graduate, and active in local and State organization's and promotion. He is currently serving in a leadership role with the Reno Rodeo Association, very active in 4-H leadership roles and a UNR Alumni supporter and athletic booster. He and wife Beverly live in Reno and have three children.