Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) has elected Kevin Ross as a member of the plant’s board of directors, effective last Friday.

Following the resignation of The Honorable Hubert M. Houser from the Board in December 2020, the Board’s Nominating Committee invited SIRE unit holders to suggest persons to fill Mr. Houser’s Board vacancy for the remainder of his term, through the 2022 annual meeting of the Company. Since that invitation, the Nominating Committee received a number of member suggestions, had discussions with a selection of the most qualified suggestions, and interviewed final candidates. Following the recommendation of the Nominating Committee, on January 29th, 2021 the Board appointed Kevin Ross to the Board vacancy to serve through the 2022 annual meeting of the Company.

Ross is a farmer from Minden, Iowa who currently serves as chairman of the National Corn Growers Association. Ross served for more than 16 years as a founding board member and executive committee member of Western Iowa Energy, LLC—a biodiesel plant in Wall Lake, Iowa.

Karol King, Chairman of SIRE’s Board of Directors said: “Kevin Ross has significant leadership experience in the ethanol, biodiesel and corn grower industries, and is an effective advocate for these industries at the state and federal level. His background will be very valuable to SIRE as we navigate challenging times for ethanol and rapidly evolving new technologies and markets for ethanol plant co-products.”