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The Renewable Fuels Foundation announces six 2023 recipients of the Robert Sather Memorial Scholarship to attend the National Ethanol Conference. Two students and four young professionals received the honor this year.

Student scholarship recipients are Xueli Chen, who is working toward a doctorate from the Dept. of Agricultural & Biological Engineering, Purdue University and serves as a research assistant at Purdue University’s Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering; and Tianbo Tang, who is in the doctoral program in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside and is the lead graduate researcher for recent work on the “Comparison of Exhaust Emissions Between E10 California RFG and Splash Blended E15” report, emissions testing for E15 approval in California.

Members of the RFA Young Professionals Network who are receiving scholarships include Ben Parsley, Innovation Manager, Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy; Ben Rhodes, Ethanol Program Manager, Nebraska Ethanol Board; Bailey Arnold, Director of Clean Air Initiative, American Lung Association; and Alex Stanley, Lab Manager, Ringneck Energy & Feed.

Now in its 14th year, the NEC scholarship program is named in honor of Robert “Bob” Sather, an educator and longtime Chair of the Renewable Fuels Foundation who helped found RFA member company Ace Ethanol in Wisconsin. The 28th annual National Ethanol Conference takes place February 28 to March 2 in Orlando.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will visit the upcoming National Ethanol Conference in Orlando next month to receive the Renewable Fuels Association annual Industry Award. Each year, the award is presented to an individual or entity who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of the renewable fuels industry and the value-added agriculture sector. Gov. Reynolds’ accomplishments and determined leadership on renewable fuel and farm policy issues made her the obvious choice for this year’s award, according to RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper.

“Gov. Reynolds has always been a leading voice and champion for renewable fuels and farmers, but her remarkable efforts in 2022 went above and beyond,” Cooper said. “She led a bipartisan group of Midwest governors in a groundbreaking effort to secure air quality improvements and year-round E15 in their states. Last year, she also charted the course for passage of the ‘Biofuels Bill,’ which established the first statewide E15 standard in the country. Under Gov. Reynolds leadership, Iowa continues to set an excellent example for other states to follow on lower-cost, lower-carbon renewable fuels like ethanol. We are honored to welcome Gov. Reynolds to the National Ethanol Conference so we can personally present her with this well-deserved award.”

Iowa is the leading producer of ethanol in the United States and recently broke its annual production record, with 4.5 billion gallons produced in 2022. Last year, Reynolds signed HF2128, the Biofuels Bill, making Iowa the first state in the nation to adopt an E15 standard and expanding access to higher blends of ethanol. She also rallied a bipartisan group of governors together to notify EPA of their intent to allow the E15 blend to be sold year-round.

The National Ethanol Conference will be taking place February 28 to March 2 at Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando.

The Renewable Fuels Association has announced key speakers for the upcoming National Ethanol Conference in Orlando Feb. 28 – March 2.

The featured luncheon speaker will be Salvatore “Sal” Giunta, the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War, as the featured luncheon speaker at the 2023 National Ethanol Conference. Giunta will share his courageous story with NEC attendees and discuss the importance of teamwork, selflessness and leadership.

An Iowa native, former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Sal Giunta was presented with our nation’s highest military decoration—The Medal of Honor—for his heroic actions during combat in Afghanistan. After Giunta’s unit was ambushed and pinned down by at least a dozen Taliban fighters, Giunta was hit twice while running into enemy fire to pull his fellow soldiers to cover. When insurgents began carrying away a fellow soldier, Giunta engaged the enemy, provided medical aid to his wounded comrade, and ultimately saved a soldier from being taken by the enemy.

Kevin Book, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners, will offer a keynote presentation at the conference on market trends and the global energy transition. Book will provide a timely outlook on world energy markets against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, rapidly changing geopolitics, emerging clean energy and climate policies, the ESG movement, growth in EVs, and other emerging issues.

“Global market and policy dynamics are rapidly shifting and, in response, the energy industry is quickly evolving,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “It is more important than ever before that the ethanol industry stays on top of these emerging challenges and opportunities. Kevin Book has the expertise and experience to help us understand what lies ahead, and we look forward to his perspective on how renewable fuel producers and other stakeholders can best navigate the changing energy landscape.”

For more information and registration, go to NationalEthanolConference.com.