Chism leaving Frenchman Valley

IMPERIAL, Nebraska -- On Sept. 27, the Frenchman Valley Farmers Cooperative, Inc. (FVC) Board of Directors accepted, with regret, the resignation of General Manager, Jim Chism effective Oct.31. Chism has accepted the CEO position with Farmers Cooperative (FC) in Ames, Iowa. FC has corporate headquarters in Ames and is the largest farmer-owned local agriculture cooperative in Iowa, serving its 5,500 members with 450 full-time employees from their 60 locations.

Mark Friehe of Frenchman Valley Co-op's McCook location, reached this morning by telephone, said that Chism would be missed. "He was a good general manager, and did good work for us," he said. Friehe added that Chism "had the utmost respect" of Frenchman Valley's employees and patrons.

The FVC Board has always taken the matter of succession planning very seriously and has a management succession plan in place. FVC has developed an excellent management team and has named Doug Ohlson Interim General Manager effective Nov. 1.

The FVC Board appreciates Chism's 30 years of service with the company, 14 of which were as General Manager. During his tenure, the company has grown to more than $700 million in sales with 220 full-time employees serving its farmer/rancher members.

Founded in 1912, FVC has 21 locations serving patrons in Southwest Nebraska, Northwest Kansas, the Nebraska Panhandle, northeast Colorado and Wyoming. FVC provides services in agronomy, feed, grain, member services, petroleum and grain procurement.