The National Biodiesel Board has named two nationally recognized fleet leaders as Biodiesel Ambassadors and both will be taking part in the National Biodiesel Conference & Expo kicking off in Las Vegas today.

John Benish Jr. is the second-generation executive of Cook-Illinois Corporation, a family-owned and operated school bus company based in Oak Brook, Illinois. He began powering his fleet of more than 2,200 school buses with biodiesel blends in 2005.

“The day we began using biodiesel, we began reducing harmful emissions immediately, with no modifications needed to our buses,” Benish Jr. said. “For us, safety and reliability are everything. With biodiesel, our feeling is why not use a fuel that’s better for our engines, better for the students and supports Illinois farmers?”

Mahanth Joishy became the fleet manager for Madison, Wisconsin in 2017, and one of his first acts was to switch the city’s heavy-duty fleet — about 500 vehicles — to blends of biodiesel fuel.

“We are not powerless in facing climate change, which is a threat not just to Wisconsin, but to the world,” Joishy said. “We can choose to take action by using better technologies and fuels, including biodiesel. Our community wants this and demands even more.”

The Biodiesel Ambassador program is supported by the United Soybean Board and soybean checkoff.