In 2010, the ARA Lifetime Achievement Award was renamed the Jack Eberspacher Lifetime Achievement award to honor the memory ARA’s former President & CEO who passed away in July 2009. This award is the highest honor presented by ARA for a career in agricultural retail.

Each year, the award is presented to a single honoree based on the following criteria:

• Individual whose talent has fundamentally advanced ag retail
• Individual who has made steadfast contributions to the association
• Individual whose accomplishments have been acknowledged by professional colleagues and his or her local community
• Individual whose work has stood the test of time

Past Recipients include:

2001    John Boyd, Morral Co.

2002    Lowell Downey, ADM

2003    Lloyd Burling, Il Assoc.

2004    Wendell Stratton, Stratton Seeds

2005    DeWalt J Willard, Willard Agri-Service

2006    Spencer Douglas, Douglas Fertilizer

2007    Glen Brandt, Brandt Consolidated

2008    Ron Stutsman, Eldon C. Stutsman and Neil Strong, Syngenta

2009    Jack Eberspacher, Past ARA President & CEO

2010    Bill Griffith, retired from American Cyanamid

2011    Al McQuinn, founder of AgChem Equipment Co.

2012    Jim Thrift, ARA

2013    Ford West, TFI

2014    Jon Nienas, Monsanto

2015    Richard Gearheard, Agrium Retail

2016    Dr. Dave Downey, Purdue University

2017    Tip O’Neill, International Raw Materials

2018    Larry Yargus, Yargus Manufacturing

2019    Ron Farrell, Farrell Growth Group

2020    Johnny Council, Grow West

2021    Alex McGregor, The McGregor Company

2022    Tim McArdle, Brandt Consolidated

2023    Joe Hodges, The Andersons/Douglas Fertilizer

Nominations are open for this award and may be submitted using the form below. The ARA Executive Committee will select the winner once all nominations have been received.

Nomination Deadline:

July 1, 2024