NPC CEO Keeling Retires Pt 1
I'm Bob Larson. A big transition is underway at the National Potato Council. John Keeling was the CEO at the NPC for 17 ½ years, but July kicked off a new era as he called it a career.
Keeling spoke on potatocountry.com's Potato Podcast where host Dave Alexander asked why now? ...
KEELING ... "I'm leaving because I'm old and I need to retire. No I, it's been an absolutely fantastic run. I have loved every second of it. But, I'll be 67 when I walk out the door and there's other things to do and, you know, new sunsets to see I think. So, I'm excited about that, but again it is a mixed blessing. It's a bitter-sweet deal."
Keeling says he's still trying to decide what's next for him ...
KEELING ... "I don't know, it's sad to say I don't know exactly what I'll do. My brother and I have a small farm that we raise hay on in Central Virginia and I've spent not as much time there over the last years as I would like, and so I'll be there more."
Moving forward, Keeling says NPC is always striving to do better ...
KEELING ... "I think that this goes with any organizations, you can always do a better job of listening to and hearing your members and engaging your members in the activities that the association is doing. I think that is a challenge always and I think you never get as good at it as you want to be."
Listen tomorrow for more on Keeling's retirement, NPC's future and the big change in leadership.
To hear the entire Keeling Exit Interview, go to the Potato Podcast at ... https://potatocountry.com/2019/06/12/the-potato-podcast-15-john-keelings-exit-interview/
