Chuck Woodside at FEW
Topping the list was Chuck Woodside, CEO of KAAPA Ethanol LLC, who received the High Octane Award for his decades of leadership and service to the ethanol industry. Woodside has served as CEO at KAAPA for 25 years, and KAAPA has grown into the largest farmer-owned ethanol producer in Nebraska, with a grain elevator and three ethanol plants producing over 350 million gallons annually. Woodside served as chair of the Renewable Fuels Association in 2011-12 and has also served in leadership roles with Renewable Fuels Nebraska and Renewable Products Marketing Group.
Others who were honored included:
Jenny Forbes, vice president of sales and service at Phibro Ethanol, received the Women in Ethanol Award for her more than 20 years of leadership, technical expertise and dedication to ethanol producers.
Pauline Teunissen, global application director for grain processing at IFF, who received the Award of Excellence for her longstanding contributions to innovation in ethanol production.
Jim Ramm, who co-founded and served as vice president of U.S. biofuels at EcoEngineers, received the Distinguished Service Award for his pioneering work in low-carbon fuel compliance and carbon markets. He retired last year.
RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper congratulated the winners.
“As the leading trade association for our industry, we’re pleased to see that the companies they represent are all producer or associate members of RFA,” said Cooper. “We congratulate them, thank them for their outstanding service, and wish them every future success. We’re especially happy to see former RFA Chairman Chuck Woodside honored for his strong leadership as a respected voice and thoughtful innovator for U.S. ethanol.”