On February 26th, 2016, 20 ASM Club members flew to Houston, TX in preparation for the 2016 GEAPS Exchange conference. While in the Houston area, attendees were able to tour a Cargill grain handling port facility, an ADM port facility in Galveston, TX, in addition to the World Championship of BBQing at the NRG stadium. Student then commuted three hours over to the GEAPS Exchange in Austin, TX. During this event, students were able to participate in the special Student Day session hosted by the organization that included presentations from grain handling industry representatives, a panel discussion, and smaller round table discussions with experts from the field. After the morning Student Day session, attendees were able to take in the trade show and interact with the numerous machinery and support service vendors for grain handling and processing. The group traveled back to Houston for one final night before flying back to cold-weather Columbus on Monday February 29th.
The students would like to thank the following sponsors for their support of this student lead trip:
Platinum Sponsors ($1,000+)
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)
Cargill
Consolidated Grain and Barge (CGB)
Gold Sponsors ($500)
Cleveland Vibrator Company
Morning Fresh Superior Foods - Schmacker's Family
Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers
River Consulting
Silver Sponsors ($200+)
Automation Zone
Beck's Hybrids
EnviroLogix
Kasa Companies
NuTech Seed
Seedboro Equipment Company
Bronze Sponsors ($100+)
CW White Farms
Custom Agri Systems (CAS)
Legacy Farmer's Coop
Pandora Grain and Supply
Student Comments:
"As a student who doesn't have much experience or knowledge of the grain industry, it was very enlightening to go to the GEAPS conference and see the great number of companies and their diverse products and services that go into making the grain industry function so efficiently. It was also amazing to see how companies and organizations are continuing to innovate to this day to make every aspect of the grain industry even more efficient than the year before. I look forward to seeing what other improvements will be made in the upcoming years." -Grant Cory
"The GEAPS Exchange allowed me to gain great access to many industry professionals and information to supplement my education about the grain industry. I really enjoyed the Student Day and look forward to going back next year. I would like to thank all of the sponsors for their generous donations that made the trip to Austin, Texas possible." -Katie Vorst
"I personally really enjoyed the 2016 GEAPS trip. With this being my second GEAPS trip and having an influence on coordination of the trip, I truly have an appreciation for the time and effort needed to plan such a complex trip. As a second time GEAPS attendee, I felt much more comfortable this time around and found myself being proactive in creating discussion with company representatives instead of being reactive. That being said, I hope that statement will encourage the younger attendees to attend next year and in future years, and I hope that older members that have not attended will consider because of the great opportunity GEAPS provides to network with potential employers for our students." -Brandon Gustwiller
The student team is looking forward to planning a trip to GEAPS Exchange 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri!