Topflight Grain Coopertive Newsletter
May 2000

LAPLACE NEWS by Vanessa Stinson

I always know when I see the snowbirds returning from the south that it is time to write another newsletter article. So, here it is. Glad to see all of you back from the south. The winter here was not too bad, though. I think that I had to scoop snow, maybe once this winter, which is great, from year's past.

Here in LaPlace, we have been loading corn and beans out to Decatur by truck and to the south by rail. As of right now, I believe that all of the on-farm stored grain in our area has been brought in. If you have farm stored grain and want it hauled, give us a call and we will be happy to work it out with you.

We still have the pile of corn on the ground here in LaPlace. We are not sure when we will be picking it up. It seems to be holding up fine.

If you are thinking about raising a specialty crop this fall, we still have acres open for STS soybeans and waxy corn. For more information, call me at 677-2111, or any one of our other facilities and someone will be able to give you the information you need.

On the home front, the family is fine. Gretchen is attending Richland College and working at Avis Rent A Car. Ashley is helping the track coach and Nicolle is running track and getting excited about entering high school in the fall. They are all active and keeping Mom & Dad hopping.

Keith is looking for nicer weather so that he can start his fishing trips. We are looking forward to a summer of camping and enjoying family and friends.

To you, we hope for a great growing season and a profitable fall. Have a great summer!

YES, THERE IS A TITANIC by Louie Tieman

It's that time again. Do you want to know why I know? I got an e-mail from Pam and telephone call from Vanessa. "What are you going to write about in yours?" 'Ness asked. Didn't really know, except just a few things I could remember and relate to some interesting gossip. Did I say gossip? Yes, Duane Born says I am worse than some old woman.

We had our focus meetings at all of the locations and we had 23 people here at Milmine. I was pleased to see producers in my area show up to ask questions and what we could relate back to them as far as our specialty crops program.

I'm usually picking on some of my customers, but I remember listening to Raymond Beery telling one of my farmers that he had been milking cows for 62 years now and still uses the original cooler he started with. He said he had 80 cows in the prime time.

Since I'm in the bragging mood, I'd like to say that the Topflight Grain Company now has made the front cover of two national magazines, Grain Journal, and Feed and Grain. Maybe, some day, Steve Kelly, at the small country elevator in Gibson City (it's really Alliance Grain) will get their elevator on a national magazine cover. I remember when he worked here.

I know with a comment like that, it would drive a blind dog off a gut wagon. Who's that 84 year old farmer who taught me that, who lives in Cerro Gordo?

Yes, I went on vacation. Yes, I went on a cruise. Yes, I booked my airline tickets to Florida through Detroit. Yes, I was delayed in Detroit, and yes, I will take another cruise, but NOT on the Titanic. Yes, I did pay extra for the all-inclusive, and yes, I got the ride of a lifetime. Nancy tells everybody that our cruise on "The Discovery Sun" was better than any ride you could get at Disney World. She's right - broken dishes, broken glasses, and yes, even broken legs. Three people we saw were put in wheel chairs and taken to the hospital when we got back to dry land!

Yes, we ran into a snowstorm in Detroit, and yes, I'm glad it was on the way back and not going down. One Yes good thing about this vacation. Since they overbooked our flight, we have round-trip airfare next year anywhere in the US, Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean. Oh, I forgot to mention when I ran the marathon, a man collapsed and died of a heart attack 1 mile into the race.

Since I'm talking about running, my oldest, Travis came home April 8th and ran a 5K (3 miles) and I ran 8 miles at Lake Sara in Effingham. It was the first time he's run in 7 years, so that made me feel good. I even got him to autograph his number for my collection. Bonnie Thomas has Kenny Rogers autograph, but I'm going to make my debut in Nashville, with Kenny and Colin Raye. There will be a band every mile for 26 miles and all I ever did was karoke.

We are trying to get funding from the state of Illinois to bring water from Bement to Milmine. Hopefully, with the help of Julie Curry, Barney's friend, and Richard Ayers, we'll be able to have our own safe supply of water.

We have the Internet at Milmine now. So, we can pull up those weather maps instead of getting those blank pages 90% of the time on the other screen. Dave and Sam like it.

Maybe for Les, Roger or Wilbur will have time to install the non-wrinkle ticket blower here at Milmine.

I will be going to Gatlinburg, TN, on May 20th, for Misty's wedding. She's going to marry a truck driver. Her name will be Smith.

So, as I close out my newsletter, for now, I hope everyone has a safe planting season, and thanks for doing with a Top Notch company, Topflight. Louie's neighbor wrote this and presented it to him:

MY NEIGHBOR by Jordan Swaim 8th grade-1999

Louie Tieman is my next door neighbor.
One day, I was sitting in my living room
watching TV when my mom came inside.
We started talking in general. All of the
sudden, my mom said, "Do you think Louie
Tieman looks like Sonny Bono?" I said,
"Yes, now that I think about it."
Louie has the same hairstyle as Sonny and
just looks a lot like him in the face. Louie is
also skinny like Sonny because Louie runs in marathons.
That's my story about my neighbor.

GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE by Chuck Bentley

I am writing this article the day before I leave for turkey hunting. My friend and hunting partner, Bob McCoppin has moved back to the area, so we are going turkey hunting together again. It's been a few years since we have hunted together.

Financially, the company is on the way to another successful year. As reported at the focus meetings, gross profit should end up in the area of $800,000. This compares very closely to last year's profit.

Future improvements in the accounting area appear to be moving very rapidly. Our Agris computer accounting system will be moved to a Windows format this year. Wireless Internet may be coming to your company in the near future also. There are so many new ways to do business, it is hard to make the correct decision, because things are changing so fast.

As always, whenever you have any questions that deal with the accounting side of the company, I am available anytime.

Have a safe planting season.

PROJECTS by Eric Clements

What a mild winter! After harvest, the operations staff quickly picked up the corn piles at Voorhies and Milmine. We were able to ship these piles directly out without any blending. We only had a handful of loads that were discounted. Stason's Milmine pile had over 600,000 bushels. Jim and Benny helped Stason watch for damage, switch bins and dump trucks. It was like harvest all over again.

Topflight hauled in for 44 customers after harvest. I always get really good compliments on the job we do for these customers. Topflight has a new semi. It is a 1999 International 9400. It has the N-14 Cummins motor rated at 370 horsepower. I talked to a lot of the trucking companies that haul for us and they all said that this is a good motor. We converted the Peterbilt into a tandem truck and retired the old Brigadeer. Linco Equipment in El Paso stretched the frame and put the bed on the Pete for us.

The new dump and leg project at Cisco is right on schedule. The concrete dump house is complete and we are expecting the pit and leg equipment any day now. the leg is rated at 10,000 bushels per hour. Roger, Joe, and Steve are putting new rail spout loadout spouts at Cisco. These two projects will really help at harvest. I hope everyone has a safe and productive spring.

MARKET INFO by Jim Tholen
As we have come out of one of the driest winters on record, we now focus on the planting season of 2000. We're all concerned about the weather, but we must not forget the most important part of our operation - the marketing of our grain.

The past few weeks, this market has given us plenty of good opportunities to get sales on the new crop that are as good as, or better, than last year, especially on the corn. If you haven't started your new crop sales, you may miss some of these opportunities. You can protect the sales with options, if you're concerned that this market will continue higher. If we start to have more normal weather conditions, the market fundamentals will take over, and we could be hard pressed to run these markets higher.

As you know by now, I've been involved, for two years, on Grain Pool Marketing programs. Participation in this program has been great. The 1999 pools have 545,000 bushels of corn and 176,000 bushels of soybeans enrolled. Results, thus far, on these pools have been good.

The 2000 grain pools had even better signups. We had several repeat customers and many new accounts, giving Topflight Grain bushels to market for them. We have signed over 1 million bushels, 830,000 bushels of corn and 228,000 bushels of soybeans.

As of April 12th, we have 75% of our corn bushels covered with sales and options. We've decided to take advantage of what this market was giving us. We have to market the fundamentals, giving consideration to weather, but not trading weather only. With the options market, it lets us stay in the market, if weather becomes a major consideration.

The soybean markets have not given us near the opportunity that corn has. Here of late, we have traded at, or above, loan levels, which gives us thoughts that some trades should be established. With put options, we have locked in the downside risk of the markets leaving upside potential in check. We've locked in 50% of our pool bushels with this strategy. Again, market fundamentals with normal weather suggests lower markets come harvest time.

So many times, we get caught up in the emotion of now: is it going to rain, or isn't it; the markets are lower today, I'm going to wait till tomorrow to sell; my yields are poor, I'm not going to sell until the crop is in the bin! Several of these concerns are valid, but emotion overrides good marketing decisions.

Having a marketing plan, being part of the pool programs, or having crop insurance are just a few of the ways to take away some of this emotion and concern about selling your crop. Your business is becoming more and more complex. Using the tools available to you could ease your frustrations of marketing and maybe, just make farming fun again.

Have a safe spring and summer, and let us know if there's anything we can do to help your operation run smoother. If you like to know more about our marketing pools, contact me at 1-877-578-2215, toll free.

EMERY NEWS by Denny Hill

Another winter is behind us and the planters are in the fields again. This was one of the mildest winters we have seen, with hardly any snowfall and above normal temperatures. This helped us stay very busy for the entire winter!

On January 1, Scott decided to take free delayed pricing, and the green flag was out for the farmers. Most of them took advantage of the unseasonable weather and began emptying their bins. We were making room by shipping to ADM, but it was slow going most days. I thought we were going to have to shut some guys off from hauling until we got some moved, but it worked out where we always had enough room. In January, we took in 150,000 bushels of corn and 25,000 bushels of soybeans.

February and March have been very busy shipping grain out. I don't believe we have missed a day of shipping grain since late February. From March 1 through April 10, we had shipped 400,000 bushels of corn and 105,000 bushels of soybeans. The corn grades have been excellent, but the soybeans have not. We have been discounted for F.M. more this year than ever before. I want to urge all of you to take a little extra time with your combines this fall and make the proper adjustments to help with this problem.

On March 10th, we had our focus meeting here at Emery. We had a turnout of about 25 and everyone seemed to enjoy the meeting and the food. I want to thank everyone for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend.

We have one new project we're looking into for next year here at Emery. Our scale is in need of some serious repairs, so we're looking into a new one that would be 10 feet longer and 2 feet wider. This will help everyone to get on the scale easier.

On the homefront this winter, my family and I were attending basketball games most every evening. Jessica, our oldest daughter, was a cheerleader for the Maroa Junior High. We watched her cheer at all of her games, plus I coached Meghan's 5th grade team. There were quite a few weeks this winter where we had someplace to be every night during the week, but we sure enjoyed it. Everyone have a nice summer.

WINTER IS GONE/SPRING IS HERE by Debbie Bryant

I'm so glad that it is Spring again! Even though we had a pretty mild winter, it was about to wear out its welcome. Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. It's always interesting to see how many of the bulbs I planted in the fall actually come up where I planted them. Sometimes, even the bulbs that have been planted for a long time come up in different places than they did the previous year. I'm not sure it the squirrels relocate them or if they sprout legs and move themselves, but I know that there weren't daffodils behind the bushes instead of in front of them. I have a couple of places to make into new flower beds and a couple of old ones to redo, too, so I can't wait until it gets a little warmer. I'm also impatiently waiting for the hummingbirds to return for the summer. Last year was the first year that we put out a feeder for them. We really enjoyed watching them.

Here at the Atwood branch, we've been busy most of the winter. We've hauled a lot of corn and beans to Decatur since harvest. We've also had grain coming in from the farm. It's always nice to be busy.

In March, Topflight Grain held the annual women's program. I'd like to thank Dick and the board of directors for allowing the Topflight women to have such an enjoyable day. I just wish that Pam could have been there since she works so hard to put the whole thing together.

Last week, Benny and Jake were here in Atwood cleaning out bins.

I'd like to thank Barb Holt for allowing us to borrow some of her pictures of the Voorhies elevator for this newsletter. If you, or anyone you know, would happen to have any old pictures, we could borrow, please let us know.

We've seen a little bit of corn planted in our area. Hopefully, by the time you read this, we will have had some much-needed rain and most of the planting will be done. I hope everyone has a good spring and summer!

WITH SPRING COMES . . . by Mikki Burns

Spring is trying to get here!! With spring, comes planting. We know everyone is getting anxious to start, and the time this is printed, the farmers will surely be hard at it, or maybe even done. Please be safe and careful!

Also, with spring comes projects. Our bin site project is underway and progressing. We are adding a new 800 bushel pit and a 12,000 bushel an hour leg. That should really speed things ups! There are some pictures in this newsletter to get you up-to-date.

Every spring, I like to do a new project in the yard. A friend and myself went to Indianapolis to the "Lawn & Patio" show. It is really something to see and very worthwhile. What I learned was "You need a pond with a waterfall, or a fountain, terraced flower beds, stamped concrete which looks like cobblestone or bricks." Some of the above requires electricity outside, which I don't have, and all of it requires a lot of hard work and interest from your spouse. Jim says he doesn't want anything else to mow around! So, I guess I will stick with what I have!

Usually, with spring comes rain. We've certainly missed the showers so far. It has helped the market somewhat, but I know we would all like to see some moisture!

With spring comes flowers. I planted pansies the other day to have some color. I don have some other things blooming which I really enjoy. It gives me "spring fever"!

We hope the ones who attended our focus meetings enjoyed them and learned from them. We were pleased with our attendance.

If you were at the women's program, we hope you had a good time!! We had three great speakers and a delicious brunch. If you couldn't make it, try to join us next year!

All of us at Cisco wish you a Happy Spring. . . . Enjoy!

THE GOLDEN YEAR OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM by Pam Jarboe

As we all celebrated the new year, the new millennium, it had a special significance to my family, as my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in February. They told us they didn't want any party, or big celebration, so we pot-lucked with steak, potatoes, salad and cake (and sparkling grape juice, for all!) at their house. Mom had the tables decorated with gold and lace tablecloths, gold candles and gold confetti. It was more festive than any restaurant!!! The atmosphere was fun and casual. The food was good and all of the kids and grandkids were there. It was a very nice evening.

Mom talks about when they started farming and borrowed $5,000. They lived where Caterpillar is now, and had a small herd of dairy cows. (She knew they would never pay back that money back!) Their farming operation has changed alot in 50 years, they've moved from that Caterpillar farm to just east of Forsyth, and they have some nice green equipment in the machine shed!

During those 50 years, they've raised my two brothers and me, and now they have grandkids, step-grandkids, and step-great-grandkids. We're still always welcome at their house, there is always plenty to eat, and they always have time to visit with us. They go to ball games, church events, 4-H events, school events, and wish they had time to do more. We still go home for most of the holidays, and a lot of other days. They have created, and maintained a very close family. They've given us all many good examples to follow, support when we needed it, and always that feeling of security from knowing that Mom and Dad are still there for us -- even at my age!

Their 50 years have been wonderful years for us, too. We had a lot of good things to celebrate, and we wish them many more, happy, successful years!!

NEWS FROM SCOTT by Scott Docherty

It has been an interesting four months since my last article for the High Flyer. The kidney transplant with my son went as planned and Serge is getting along fine with his medication and finally took his last exam for last semester. He started playing spring baseball, was in the school play and is still playing the drums for pep band. I am feeling fine after my first stay at the hospital since the day I was born. The doctors did a nice job and the nurses did a great job of keeping me informed of what to expect through surgery and recovery. I was released from the hospital after 4 days and was back to work within 2 weeks after surgery. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their prayers, cards, and donations to the "helping hand" fund. My family and I have been overwhelmed by the care and giving from so many family, friends, and co-workers.

THANK YOU!!

Topflight Grain is still holding a long basis position and owns 55% of the beans and 75% of the corn that were delivered last fall. We have picked up 150,000 bushels of temporary space corn at Pierson, but still have that much more at Pierson and 400,000 at LaPlace under tarp that needs to be brought into the elevator. We have had some large margin calls from the CBOT since corn has rallied 30 cents and beans have rallied 75 cents since January. We discussed at our focus meetings how the large speculative funds have gone from a record short corn position of 345,000,000 bushels (July 99) to a long corn futures position of 645,000,000 bushels. They can and will move the market in a big way, and we have to remember this gives us oportunity to price new crop corn and beans above loan levels. Topflight Grain has 40,000 bushels of new crop beans purchased for fall at an average price of $5.30, and 800,000 bushels of new crop corn purchased at an average price of $2.32. We have seen alot of interest in crop insurance this spring, particularly CRC. The three informational meetings that Topflight held in January were well attended, and rightfully so, with low prices and dry weather concerns, this type of coverage made sense to review. The premiums are $10 to $12 an acre lower than last year, but still expensive at $17 to $22 dollars per acre, depending on your Actual Production History and total number of acres. Crop Revenue Coverage is not easy to understand and you must apply a marketing plan along with your insurance coverage to get the most bang for your buck.

The long awaited March planting intentions report was neutral for corn and beans and slightly friendly for wheat. Highlights of USDA Grain Stocks/Acreage Report: ===============================================================
ACREAGE MAR 31, 2000 AVE EST. 1999
CORN 77.881 mln 77.346 mln 77.431 mln
BEANS 74.871 mln 74.585 mln 73.78 mln

GRAIN STOCKS
CORN 5.606 bln 5.573 bln 5.696 bln
BEANS 1.397 bln 1.420 bln 1.458 bln
===============================================================

The CBOT has gone through 2 delivery periods using the new river delivery system and there may be some minor changes, but for the most part, it has performed well. The spreads continue to stay wide and basis levels are below 5 and 10 year averages.

Have a safe spring and keep trying those rain dances.

OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM by Lindsey Walsh

Since February 15th, I have been interning in the Bement office. I am currently a senior at Bement High School and planning to study business at Parkland this fall. Every afternoon at 1:30, I leave school and travel across the street to learn the aspects of running a cooperative.

I had a very memorable experience weighing my first grain truck. The grain came pouring out the probe box and spilled all over the office. I guess the probe doesn't need to stay in the grain as long as I thought because Pam had to jiggle out the corn that was still clogged in the probe outside. When I looked up from the mess, Joyce was laughing hysterically. I guess everyone does it once!

Even though I learned many new things in office, I've spent a lot of time outside the office. I attended the Women's Program at the Country Opry. I went bowling with the adopted 2nd grade class on one afternoon, and recently Topflight took the 2nd graders on an all day trip to the U of I bubble and a tour of UPS.

One afternoon, Dick took Allen Perry and me to ADM. We met with a very knowledgeable merchandiser who showed us all over the office. Everyone was so friendly and polite; it was a very nice trip. Another afternoon, I spent with Joe. We visited Lynn Larson and his hired help, Duck Isbell. I was able to watch as they put a new muffler on the tractor. I also got a feel for farmer lingo.

Topflight is an excellent place to intern. I am really glad that I took the opportunity to learn outside the school building. My thanks to Dick and Pam for being great mentors. I would also like to thank Joyce, Vanessa, Chuck, Scott, Joe and Eric for always giving me something to do.

THE LUCK O' THE IRISH

Green and white balloons, green and white tablecloths, green shamrock cookies, and Irish proverb placemats decorated the Bement Country Opry for the 2000 Topflight Grain Women's Program on Wednesday, March 15. The aroma of grilled sausage greeted the guests as they arrived that morning for the brunch of sausage, egg casserole, fruit salad and muffins.

Vanessa Stinson welcomed the women and introduced Holly Spangler, the first speaker. Holly is a young farmer/farm wife from western Illinois. She talked about what it's like to be a young farmer during these tough times of agriculture, and how few young farmers there are, to build relationships.

The next entertainer, Tammy Wilson, portrayed seven different characters in dress and action, and answered questions from the audience regarding men, house work, and other topics of a woman's concern. Although her answers may not have always been helpful, they were entertaining!!

Mikki Burns introduced the last speaker of the morning, Colleen Callahan, ag broadcaster from Peoria. Colleen compared the changes that have been made in agriculture, talked about the GMO issue, and encouraged farmers to communicate with their neighbors and friends about their jobs, their practices, and their commitments.

During the intermission, between Tammy and Colleen, Dick hosted "So you want to become a Topflight millionaire", with trivia questions about Topflight grain. He didn't give away a million dollars, but it was fun to pretend!

RETIREMENT by Mikki Burns

Keeping busy during retirement? You can bet Bill Sago does! His hobbies are camping, gardening, golf, and wood crafts. The wood craft hobby (now business) started 8-10 years abo when his daughter wanted him to cut some craft items out for her to paint. When the house next door to Bill and his wife, Marilyn, came up for sale, they purchased it and decided to make it a craft shop. "Sagos' Lit'l House" was created. Inside are four romms filled with precision made items. One room is exclusively Christmas. Bill and Marilyn have two work rooms where painting and final touches are done. Bill has a separate work shopwhere all the item are made.

Numerous articles fill the "Lit'l House". There are shelves ranging from 6" to 5 1.2', carpenter's tool boxes, birdhouses, baker's racks, plate racks, electrified lanterns, paper towel holders, napkin holders, wooden trays, and his newest item - and electrified lamp post. Bill uses several different kinds of wood to make the above item. Pine, oak, maple, cherry and barnsiding are some of the varieties. Marilyn does the intricate painting and also makes and decorates dried florals which include wreaths and swags.

They have recently started attending craft shows in Cisco and Gordyville, USA. The "Lit'l House" is open by appointment or anytime they are home. You may call 217-669-2343 when you wish to visit. We are sure you would find something of interest. Their work is excellent!

BIG BUCKS!!!

January is always an expensive month in the grain business. This year, on the first of January, grain checks totaled $14,937,000. Checks for the entire month of January totaled $22,171,000.

Chuck had checked and double checked his list to make sure that the computers were all Y2K compliant, and the New Year paperwork was finished, as planned, for the first customers on the first business day of the new year.

KNOW YOUR CODE

We appreciate any way you can communicate with us, to tell us the farm you're hauling from.

COME, JOIN US!!!

You'll see the Topflight people, involved in many activities this spring and summer. Come, join in the fun!!

April 20 - Bement 2nd grade Easter Egg Hunt with Topflight Grain
April 22 - Atwood Chamber of Commerce Easter Egg Hunt
May 6 - Quilters Day at-the-woods United Church of Atwood
May 17 - Bement 2nd Grade Play Day, with Topflight Grain
May 20 - Atwood Chamber of Commerce Golf Outing
June 2 & 3 - All around town Garage Sales in Atwood
June 3 - Bement Day Run Call Juanita Jennings for information
June 10 - Bement Lion's Club Chicken Fry
June 17 - Fat Hill Fest in Cerro Gordo
July 4 - Bement's 4th of July Topflight Grain will sponsor the Pedal Tractor Pull, after the parade
August 11 - Topflight Grain annual meeting
August 15 - Topflight Grain golf outing Topflight Grain trap shoot
August 18 & 19 - Apple Dumpling Festival in Atwood

FOCUS . . .FOCUS . . . FOCUS

Topflight customers should have been clearly focused on the direction of the company, at the conclusion of the 10 day road show of focus meetings. The focus meetings were held at Cisco, Atwood, Pierson, Milmine, LaPlace, Bement, and Emery, to reach the customers of each area of the company.

Following lunch, Manager Thomas introduced the employees and board members from each elevator. Controller Chuck Bentley presented the financial situation of the company, showing a profit similar to last year. Manager Thomas spoke about the amount of stock redeemed last year, suggesting a plan to redeem the older stock. Merchandiser Scott Docherty listed the export and domestic high oil corn, waxy corn, and STS beans as the specialty crops handled by Topflight Grain. He reviewed the recent supply/demand report issued by the USDA, pricing charts, and current market news. Marketing Pool Manager Jim Tholen presented the up-to-date pricing of the pool bushels, and guidelines for signing up bushels in the marketing pool program. Assistant manager Pam Jarboe listed the year end summaries, customer status acknowledgments, focus meetings, women's program, golf outing, annual meeting, website, and newsletter as services the company provides to the customer. Manager Thomas concluded the presentation portion of the meeting by reviewing comments from last year's meetings, and the action taken.

Following questions from the group, a survey was passed out, to further guide management and directors in accordance with stockholder wishes.

FUEL COSTS

Our truckers approached us the last of February and asked for an increase of 5% to offset the increase in fuel prices. We decided to add a 5% surcharge to the truckers' bills as of the 1st of March to help them compensate for the increase in fuel. If diesel fuel goes back below $1.20 per gallon, we agreed that the surcharge would come off. This 5% surcharge equates to 1/2 cent per bushel increase to our trucking rates.

AN OLD BUDDY PASSED AWAY by Richard Thomas

Reva Slagle stopped by a few days ago, to say that George Stanley had passed away. What a guy! George was farming on one of the Allerton farms when I moved to Bement, and delivered grain to Voorhies. I first got to know him through PCA. My dad was on the advisory board of PCA and George was on the big board. George and several farmers from this area went to Rantoul to a PCA meeting and they asked me to go along. After the meeting, they wanted to know of some place to go. Since I was from that area, I suggested the Caravan. I won't mention names, but some money exchanged hands that evening, and I was put in an embarrassing situation. George and I would reminisce about that occasion at least once a year.

In my eyes, George didn't tipify a person with a string mustache. I always associate a person with a string mustache as being a "shady" person. If anything, George was just the opposite. He was a loyal husband who really enjoyed his wife and family. I can still see Katie with her quick wit saying something that would cause George and I to have a good laugh. He was so proud of his children and they, in turn, were really good to him, especially in these last few months. After he retired, he had a regular routine to come into the office in the morning and then again, in the afternoon after we had posted the bids. We would always give him a copy of the bid sheet and he always wanted to make sure he paid us for the copy. That's just the kind of person he was. When he moved to Tatman, we even faxed the bid sheets up to him. His mind was sharp right up until the end. George had been so many places and done so much in his lifetime that he could talk intelligently about many subjects.

When George served on the board of directors after we merged with Voorhies he helped implement many policies that we still have in effect today. I'd have to say he was a progressive thinker and I sure enjoyed working with him.

I have a saying on my office door that begins with "Do it today". Then it continues to say "If you were going to die soon, and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call, and what would you say? And why are waiting?" Pam and I were going to call George tomorrow. We waited too long, and I'm sorry. I will always remember George Stanley as someone I would like to pattern my life after.

FUN IN SMALL GROUPS

It's been a fun winter, as we've enjoyed activities with our adopted second grade class from Bement Grade School.

At the Christmas party, Christmas cookies and drinks were served. As the classes were singing Christmas songs, a familiar "Ho-Ho-Ho" was heard coming down the stairway. Santa appeared with his sack full of toys slung over his back. He questioned each child to determine the past year's behavior, then rewarded each one with a chocolate Christmas treat.

It was so noisy you could hear the pins drop, at the Bement Bowl, when we visited in February. Back behind the scenes, we watched the machinery reset the pins and return the bowling ball. Once we had all seen the works, the bowling balls were rolling down the alleys!! It was a lot of fun, and with top bowlers like Vanessa Stinson and Louie Tieman to assist, everyone had a good time!

All aboard for Urbana, as Dick Thomas, Mikki Burns, Russell Wright, Lindsey Walsh and Barney Camden accompanied the second graders on the spring field trip. Dick had arranged a tour of the "bubble" that covers Memorial Stadium at the University of Illinois. The students ran from one end to another and toured the weight rooms. Then, on to McDonalds for lunch, and lots of time to play in the playground. After lunch, Barney Camden assisted with the tour of United Parcel. Jimmie Johnson led the tour, allowing the students to sit in a semi, and walk through a delivery truck. Jimmie told them that their employees sort 15,000 packages each morning and pick up 20,000 to be shipped out of Urbana each evening. Jimmie handed out UPS footballs, balloons and pens to everyone, and thanked them for coming to UPS.

After that tour, it was time to come back to Bement, for the dismissal of school.

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'

Bonnie called it their "California Dreamin'" vacation, but Dick had to work. They attended the National Grain and Feed meeting in San Diego in March. Dick brought back several points he learned while attending the various meetings:

Dave Shipman, head of Federal Grain Inspection Service, wasn't aware of any discrepancies between the new approved Dickey-John and the previously approved Motomco meter.

No bio-tech corn has been approved since April 1998. The earliest amendment for bio-tech approval in Europe will be 2002.

There seems to be no support to label bio-tech products. If there was, it would take until 2003 to put it into effect.

The government plans to begin a farm facility loan program on June 1st. It would loan money to farmers to build farm storage, at an interest rate of 5 3/4%, to be paid back in 10 years. Multi-peril insurance is a requirement; an EPA audit on the ground is required; zoning laws must be complied with; 25% down payment is required.

We are exporting less commodities since Freedom to Farm. We are exporting more domestic products such as pork and chicken.

Any good industry has inventory management.

The merger between the Canadian National railroad and the Northern Santa Fe railroad guarantees the same, or better, service levels. The combined company has 67,000 employees, revenue of $12.5 billion, and 50,000 route miles.

E-commerce and dot-coms are certainly forces in the ag sector, also.

As well as attending the various meetings and workshops, Dick visited with many people involved in the ag industry, from across the country.

ON A SCALE OF 1 to 4

Can you imagine a boss who asks his employees to rate him, on 21 factors, on a scale of 1 to 4?? Dick Thomas did exactly that!! In one of the March employee newsletters, he included a "quiz to check relationship with employees". Questions included time spent with employees, clear definition of work tasks, allowing time and space to perform duties, team decision making, knowing job goals, trying new ideas, seeking input from employees, sharing credit with workers, and encouraging a sense of humor in the workplace. Dick rated high in most areas, but learned a few points that the employees felt needed improved.

CRC

In the world of acronyms, CRC is Crop Revenue Coverage. Topflight Grain hosted three meetings with Strategic Farm Marketing to present some of the crop insurance choices available to producers in central Illinois. Meetings were held in Bement, Cisco, and Hammond, with 20 - 30 in attendance. The different levels of coverage were explained, examples were given, and deadlines were stressed. Many "what-if" charts were presented showing different yield and price scenarios, to aid farmers in making decisions on levels of coverage. Booklets with the information were distributed so that participants could review the information later, in necessary, and plenty of questions were asked.

RETREAT!!!!

Board members, management, and a few employees participated in the board retreat on December 3, 1999. The purpose of the retreat was to expand ideas and plan for the future of Topflight Grain. This was accomplished through speakers from various industries, discussions, and reports on agricultural issues.

Some of the information presented stated that:
1. A 5 year loyal customer has cumulative profit potential of 7 times a new customer.
2. Only 3% of the people change their minds on political ads. What the ads do is strengthen the relationships with those we believe in.
3. 80% of profits come from 20% of our customers.
4. We need to decide what kind of business we are in - Kodak sells memories Revlon sells hope. ATT sells "reach out & touch someone".
5. Know our customers You are not badgering customers if you are giving them what they want. Focus groups are needed to listen to our customers
6. Synergy - the whole is more important than the parts
7. Topflight Grain needs a mission statement that includes people, facilities, service, results.
8. Dr. Bruce Chassy, from the University of Illinois, talked about Food Safety and BioTech: GMO foods won't hurt you, but no one knows what 20 years of eating them will do.
9. Brian Burke from ADM talked about STS beans and high oil corn. ADM will have another run or two of non-GMO beans ADM plans to grind 25 - 30 thousand bushels of high oil a day.
10. Steve Rosenbloom from Monsanto explained his company's stance on GMO. He thought that if ADM was paying a premium for non-GMO, the farmer should take advantage of it Central Illinois seems to be the only area separating beans.

Those in attendance thought the information presented was interesting and useful and could be used to help set direction and policy for Topflight Grain.

Our sympathies to the families of . . . .

Steve Swaim

Myrtle McKee

Gretchen Nelson

Rosemary McRoberts

Don Smith Dale Born

Rosemary Wall

Joyce Ann Harper

Mabel Weldy

Lucille Wright

Kenny Adcock

Don Clements

Vern Ohlemeyer

Carl Hite

Ira McCartney

Vualo Durbin

Bill Short

Harold Hill

George Stanley

Ralph "Red" McMullen

Velma Murphy

Leonard Dick

Pearl Kamm

Mary Lamb

Glen Jurgens

GRAIN PAGE

Specialty crops

The export high oil program, with a 25 cent premium, has been filled.

The domestic high oil program with a 15 cent premium, has been filled.

The STS bean program, with a 20 cent premium, has bushels to be contracted yet.

These bushels must be delivered to Atwood, Emery, or Shacks, or farm stored. Elevator delivered must be sold or delay priced. If farm stored, delivery is buyer's call.

The waxy corn program, with a 15 cent premium, is filled. Non-GMO premium is a "market situation"; delivery period and premiums are unknown at this time.

DOING WHAT WE CAN

• Shawn Reeves accepted a check from Mikki Burns, to help support Cisco Area Economic Development.
• Cathy Nolan received a check from Mikki Burns, for the Cisco Fire Protection District.
• Debbie Bryant presented a donation to the Atwood Fire Fighters.
• Debbie Bryant, representing Topflight Grain, contributed to the Atwood Chamber of Commerce Celebrity Auction, as Chamber President Debbie Chenoweth accepted the check.

What's Happenin'

Chuck Bentley, representing Topflight Grain, received the Agris Ambassador Award. The award was presented at the annual conference, in recognition of the effort to show the Agris computer system to other grain companies interested in purchasing the software.

Gloria and Rob Litwiller will be moving to Atwood in early May.

Russell Wright celebrated his 50th birthday in November. (Maybe we celebrated it for him!) His semi truck was decorated with banners, signs, and the cab was full of black balloons.

Jim Tholen attended the Country Elevator Council. He heard speakers from DuPont, Novartis, National Grain & Feed. Topics included GMOs, trade developments and trends, safety issues of GMOs, hiring and motivating employees, rail and inland waterways in Mexico and South America.

Vanessa and Dick spoke about Specialty Grains at a United Prairie meeting.

Lindsey Walsh is interning at the Bement office.

Gloria and Rob went to Kansas City to watch the Chiefs play football, in December.

Bonnie Thomas hosted the annual Topflight Christmas Lunch. The girls enjoyed a delicious lunch, time to visit, and the holiday decorations that Bonnie does so well.

If we have to test for non-GMO traits this fall, we figure we will have to hire one more person at each testing station, and purchase the test kits, which cost $5.75 per test and take about 7 minutes to run.

Nicolle Stinson was chosen Sweetheart of Cerro Gordo's Valentine Dance.

150,000 bushel of the Pierson corn rings has been picked up. 100,000 is still on the ground.

Milmine picked up their pile in November.

LaPlace's bunker is still full.

Stason Kopps has a new motorcycle.

Scott Docherty and Jim Tholen attended a meeting in March, where they discussed the grain code and articles and bylaws of cooperatives.

Dick won the NCAA pool.

Eric, Gary & Joe attended a GEAPS meeting, to learn about rail car fall protection, electrical derugulation and options.

The Bement water station is operational. If you need water for your field operations, you may stop and fill up. (This is not drinking quality water, but is suitable for spraying.)

Willard built a catwalk around the dust bin in Bement.

Be sure to watch for the Topflight Grain float, in the summer community floats.

YOUTH DISCOVERY CONFERENCE

We're looking for a few good young people!! It's an opportunity to meet young people from across the country, participate in workshops directed toward high school youth, establish your own marketing cooperative, and develop some insight and self-confidence. These are a few of the activities presented at Farmland's Youth Discovery Conference, at William Jewell College, in Liberty, Missouri. Dates of the conference are from June 5th through June 10th.

Topflight Grain will supply transportation and the registration fee, which includes accommodations, food, and workshops. (Participants will need a small amount of spending money.) It is an excellent opportunity to attend a well organized and youth focused conference. Each attendee is asked to attend the Topflight Grain annual meeting, and present a summary of the conference.

The conference is open to youth entering their junior or senior year of high school this fall. If you would be interested in attending and representing Topflight Grain at this unique conference, please call your local Topflight office.

MOISTURE METER PROBLEM by Richard Thomas

We are still experiencing the same problems with the corn moisture in Decatur being .5% and .7% wetter than our moisture meters. The problem was supposed to be corrected by the manufacturer, last year, by inserting a new chip into the machine. According to what tests we have run, it didn't corect the problem. The new approved GAT 2000 Dickey John moisture meters cost $4500. So, to equip all our facilities with new moisture meters, it would cost $54,000. But, if you figure losing .7% on all the corn we handled last fall, it would mean an additional $531,000 to our bottom line. If this trend continues, we may have to look at making the investment.

More government intervention that we didn't need.

CISCO PROJECT

Koehl Bros. has started construction of a new pit and leg at the Cisco bin site. The leg will be 10,000 bushel per hour capacity and will stand 163 feet tall. The leg will be supported by a 10' x 12' x 150' tall tower. The pit will have the capacity of 760 bushels, with a drag flite conveyor for unloading. The concrete driveway building will be 24' long, 20' tall, 14' wide, with 12" thick walls and concrete roof. It will have two 14' wide x 16' tall manual steel roll up doors. With the addition of this pit and leg, it will give customers at the Cisco facility 4 unloading areas. This project should be completed by the end of July.

GRAIN & FEED CONVENTION by Richard Thomas

Seven board members and eight employees attended the Grain & Feed Convention held at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield, February 20 - 22. Most of the employees and a few of the board members attended the program on the 21st. This year's convention was titled "Partners in Success". The convention began on Sunday evening with a motivational and inspirational concert. That was followed by the official opening of the convention, with entertainment and dancing from the Jules Blattner Band.

On Monday morning, there were four concurrent workshops:

1. What to expect when OSHA Knocks - by a panel of members who have been there

2. Biotechnology Enhanced Grain - What's the latest and what can we expect in the future?

3. Seed Research - you won't believe what's coming

4. Crop Insurance, Revenue Contracts - Pros/Cons, What works and what doesn't

At noon, on Monday, Peggy Kay (Tim Morton's cousin) gave a speech to the women on "Cornflakes and More". In the afternoon, they repeated the first two workshops and added two more:

1. Contract Issues Related to Biotechnology Enhanced Grains and an Update on other National Issues

2. Partnering with the Past - Looking to the Future - Knowing what to expect from farm machinery will help the elevator plan for the future Later, in the afternoon, the annual business was held, after which "Ordinary Magic - Five Steps to Rediscovering the Magic in our Lives" was the program. The off-the-cuff comedy made you think and laugh. It reminded us that the real magic lies in the small stuff. On Tuesday morning, the women had a speaker on "Improving Your Memory in Five Easy Steps", by Mary Byres. Bonnie said we should get this speaker for our women's program next year. There were also three more workshops Tuesday morning:

1. How to Manage Conflict - Conflict is all around us. Learn how to deal with those that unleash their anger on you.

2. OSHA's Local Emphasis Program - Learn what's involved

3. Update on 2000 Weather Patterns - Will the weather be our partner for success in 2000? The closing session on Tuesday was "The Challenge of Excellence". For 15 years, Al Holst was a "sunday zebra". He officiated at four NFL championship games and served in Super Bowls VI and XIII as a line judge. Art helped us realize that we are "Partners in Success" with his clean, rib-tickling humor and inspiring tales of excellence.

WE NEED YOUR HELP by Richard Thomas

We have had many compliments about our Reminisce section in our newsletter . . but we need your help in sending us your old pictures. If you have some old pictures that you think the rest of our stockholders would be interested in, PLEASE give them to one of our branch managers. They will see that the pictures are given to the proper people in our organization, to be included in the newsletter. We will then be sure to return the photographs to you. We know that is very important.

Bonnie and I recently went to downtown Greendale, Wisconsin, where the Reiman Publications Visitor Center is located. This is the company that Roy Reiman started with Farm Wife News (now Country Woman), and has since added Farm & Ranch, Country, Reminisce and many other magazines. We ate some "Minnesota Munchers" cookies, baked there at the visitor's center from the winning cookie recipe out of the "Best of Country Cookies" cook book.

What I have figured out about Roy Reiman is that he gets his subscribers to send him articles and then he publishes them and sells them back to you. At Topflight, we would like you to send us your old pictures, but we'll print them in the company newsletter, and then return them to you.

FREE! = = = = = = GENERATION GAP by Richard Thomas

A few months ago, my grandson, Thomas Reid, who is 11, called me on the phone and told me I should buy some WWF stock when it went public. First of all, I had to ask him what WWF stood for. He says "Don't you know? It's World Wrestling Federation!" I said, "Oh, yea", I had watched some of that when I was channel surfing at night. He said, "You get on it right away because it's really going to make you some money." At about the same time, my mom, who is 83, called and wanted to know if my brothers and I could come up and help her out with her finances. My mother-in-law had passed away and we had talked to Mom about getting some of her finances in order. Well, we did go up and went with Mom to the banks she has money in and found out that she was making 2.5% on some of her money. The banker explained that Mom could be making more, but Mom wanted to be able to write checks on this account, just in case. Realizing she already had a checking account at another bank, we convinced her to put it in a CD that paid 5.5% for one year. So, Mom's happy and we all went out to eat.

Now, just two weeks ago, I went down to see my grandson, Thomas, and we golfed together. He climbed back into the golf cart and I asked, "Hey, Thomas, how's that WWF stock doing?" "Oh, Grandpa", he answered, " we have an image problem." I told him I knew what he meant. He said he bought the stock for $15, and now, it's down to $11. He assured me it would get better. I told him I could see why they have an image problem because I had been watching more of it since he advised me to buy the stock. I asked him if his parents knew he was watching it. He answered by telling me that all the kids his age talk about it at school and some even subscribe to the pay for view matches. I thought back to my child hood and I guess we did go over to my uncle's house, who had a TV, and watch wrestling on Saturday nights. We couldn't see much because of the poor reception, but we thought it was real. At least, my grandson knows it's scripted.

Now, my mom and dad never talked much about retirement. I think they just thought they would work forever. Mom was perfectly happy making 2.5% on her money. At least, she had more than she put in. When you talk to her about stock, she thinks you're talking about chickens, cows, pigs, or horses. Then, my generation comes along and that's all we talk about - how many more days to retirement and how much money we have in our 401K. Many are being offered early buy outs and most of them are takin them. Then, my grandson Thomas's generation comes along and he starts planning at age 11. Now, if his stock choices aren't any better that the one he has picked so far, maybe he better win the lottery. Or, like that commercial on TV, shows, invite some friends over and have them sit on your couch. Shake them up and down to see if they drop any money in your couch for you to pick up after they leave.

I guess this is on my mind because, at the Grain & Feed Convention this year, when the board and employees went out to eat, the question came up about my retirement. My wife looked at me and asked, "Are they trying to tell you something?" I think she would have me work forever. I have thought about it some, since I'll be 60 in November. But, unless my grandson can give me better stock tips, or my mom can earn more interest on her money, I may have to stay around until I'm 65.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY? by Richard Thomas

Chuck says that the change in storage rates has saved our farmers $25,000 so far this year. After the minimum, the storage rate is 1/15 cents per day. In February, we saved you $10,000 and in March it was $15,000.

If you add the $25,000 storage savings to the $50,000 saved in drying rates, by charging on dry bushels, it adds up to a pretty good sum.

Congratulations to ...

Jill Lawson, Channel 17 Teacher of the Month

Andy and Kelly Foran, newlyweds in February

Brian & Jodie Wilkin, new parents of Joseph Clark Wilkin

Gregg Ross, winner of the turkey shoot at the Warrensburg Sportsman's Club

Louie Tieman, running in the Turkey Trot in front of the Thanksgiving Day Parade in Decatur

Ed & Cindy Reedy, parents of a new son

Brandon & Tammy Boyd, newlywed in March

Michelle & David Stumeier, parents of twins, Caleb & Ethan

Corrie Mechling, and her new husband, Joe

Steve & Rita Smith, parents of a new daughter, Brianna

Topflight Grain, and its employees, for receiving the Agris Ambassador Award (for demonstrating the Agris grain accounting software to other grain companies), their feature in the Feed & Grain magazine (an article on the consolidation of the three companies), and the Growmark Bull and Bear Award (for shipping the most grain through the Growmark system).

OOPS!!!

It was actually worse than "OOPS!", in the last issue of the High Flyer. Somehow, through all the proofs and double checks, we omitted Chuck's article. The first person to notice ??? His mother-in-law!! She is proud of Chuck, and looked for his article as soon as she received her High Flyer. We greatly apologize to Chuck. He put in a lot of effort and good information for his report, then it wasn't printed. We hope that you will read his article in this issue and appreciate his comments.

DIRECT INFORMATION If you're hauling grain direct off the farm to the processor, please, please, help us credit that grain to the correct farm and person. At the end of each day, please keep us informed of you ticket numbers, farm, the ownership split of the bushels, and how it is to be applied - to contract, spotted, or other arrangements that you may have made. You can call your local office, email one of the offices, or fax the information to your local office. It is very important that we have this information daily. We receive returns from the processors daily, and must know exactly how to enter your information, daily. Please make sure we have the correct information.

WHO'S HIDING THE HUMOR?? Have you ever noticed that all folks have a sense of humor . . . it's just that some folks have a bad one???? Come, learn with us the benefits of a positive sense of humor, at the annual meeting. Jolene Brown will be the keynote speaker at this year's annual meeting, and will help us maintain sanity in this crazy world. The annual meeting is Friday, August 11, 2000, at the Decatur Civic Center. Save the date now; you'll receive more information later. =

NEW COACHES FOR THE U of I by Dave Conlin

On Saturday, November 20th, at the Illinois vs. Northwestern football game, Bonnie and I were honorary coaches for the game. This is not an honor you receive because of your ability, it came about by the luck of the draw. On Friday before the game, we were invited to the quarterback luncheon by a good friend. We were given raffle tickets before the luncheon and at the drawing, we had the first ticket that was drawn, which was for the opportunity to be honorary coaches.

On Saturday, we started out the day by eating breakfast at the Park Inn in Urbana, which is where the players had spent the night and had their breakfast. From there, we went to the stadium and toured the football facilities. First, we saw the weight room, which is where we are, in this picture. It was most impressive. From there, we went to the press boxes, which is above the upper deck on the west side of the stadium.

At this point in time, it was about time for the ball game to start. We stood at the end of one tunnel at the northeast corner of the stadium as the players came out before the game. It was senior's day and they introduced each of the seniors there before they entered the field. We watched the game from the field along the west side lines around the Illinois bench. It certainly gives you a different perspective of the game from there. The players look a whole lot bigger when you are standing that close to them. You can also see the holes open up from the blocking a lot better. I think you also notice the speed of the players from there, too.

After the game, we watched the students storm onto the field and try to pull down the south goal post. They never did get the job done. The last event of the day was attending the press conference after the game. This was a very positive conference, especially after the success of the game, and the season. After a lot of the questions, asked by the press, Coach Turner continued to give credit to the seniors on the squad, for the turn around the team made this year.

I want to thank my ole friend Rich Connell for inviting us to the Quarterback luncheon to make all this possible. I also want to thank Mr. Thomas for asking me to write this article. It was a lot more fun writing about this than about how good or bad the elevator is doing. (Editor's note - Dave wrote many articles about how Pierson Grain was doing, as manager of the company, prior to the Topflight consolidation.)

Contributed by John Kezer

I once made a remark about the hidden books of the Bible. It was a lulu, kept people looking so hard for the facts, and for others, it was a revelation. Some were in a jam, especially since the names of the books are not capitlaized, but the truth finally struck home to numbers of readers. To others, it was a real job. We want it to be a most fascinating few moments for you. Yes, there will be some really easy ones to spot. Others may require judges to help them. I will quickly admit it usually takes a minister to find one of the 17, and there will be loud lamentations when it is found. A little lady says she brews a cup of tea so she can concentrate better. See how well you can compete. Relax now, for there are really the names of 17 books of the Bible in these sentences. (One preacher found 16 books in 20 minutes. It took him three weeks to find the seventeenth one.) Answers are available at your local Topflight office. Please call, or stop by, if you want to check your answers.

FRIENDS by Richard Thomas

One nice thing about working for the same company for 31 years is that you really get to know your customers, and Mary Lou Flenniken has always been someone I admired. I think it's because she reminded me a lot of my mom. She would rather be working in the field than doing housework. And, like my mom, you always knew where you stood with Mary, because she'll tell you! On my travels between Bement and Milmine, I would see her out, it seemed like on the hottest days, walking beans by herself. She did all the hauling of grain to the elevator until they got semi's. Even then, once in awhile, you would see her pass over the scales in her green Ford truck. I'd hate to say how many times she crossed our scale with a load of grain. Mary has gone through several tragedies in her life, but like the ever-ready bunny, she just kept on ticking. She is, and should be, very proud of her family's accomplishments. So, it was with heartache and pleasure, that I was able to give Mary a check for the stock she, her husband, and son had earned by doing business with the company they owned.

ARE WE MEETING YOUR EXPECTATIONS? by Richard Thomas

As I write this article, my thoughts are with a new slogan we have adopted here at Topflight Grain, EXCEED CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS. It is nothing new and I'm sure you have heard it from lots of other companies. Bonnie and I went on a cruise to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cobo San Lucas the last week of January. You talk about exceeding customer expectations, they did. I don't know how that cabin boy knew when we were out of our room, but every time we came back, the room was straightened up, beds made, or turned down, depending on the time of day, and clean towels were laid out in the form of animals. In the evening, our waiter would make sure that the food suited everyone's wishes. If you wanted more, all you had to do was ask.

I was informed that there were 700 workers on the boat and 2000 vacationers. So, for every 3 people on board, there was one employee to see that your cruise was enjoyable. These 700 employees worked 12 hour shifts and did many jobs. I noticed that the performers were in two shows every night, plus sold tickets to port tours and seemed to be willing to do anything else that was needed. The only problem was that just a few could speak English. But my point here is that this cruise line (Carnival) and their employees exceeded my expectations. Matter of fact, when I got back, I told all my employees I hoped they could experience such service.

I'd like to think that here at Topflight Grain, we exceed your expectations. At the 10 focus meetings we just put on, Pam talked about all the different services we provide our customers. She talked about the volume statements we send out informing you of the business you have done with us for a calendar year, the direct deposits we make for customers out of town, and the proof of yields we print for LDP and oil seed payments. Joyce has even delivered the proof of yields to the FSA office in Monticello for some customers, on her way home from work. Then, you add in the on-the-farm pickup of grain, women's program, golf outing, annual meeting, focus meetings, handling 5 specialty grains, market tapes, and a web page that is used by many. Then there's the status report we print at the end of August to inform you of grain you still have in storage and any open contracts you might have. Almost forgot the marketing pool that a customer said performed better than the others he subscribed to last year. We are able to accomplish this and still have a real person answering the phone when you call in. If you are put on hold, we even have some thought provoking messages for you to listen to.

Now, my wife tells me we could have gone a Caribbean cruise line for more money and maybe better service. Or we could have gone on the cruise line that Louie went on and experience what he did. (Ask him about it sometime!)

The point here is that we may not always have the top bid or the lowest rates, but I hope the service we render is something you can be proud of as a stockholder. The employees and myself work hard to EXCEED YOUR EXPECTATIONS. If we don't, then I want to know.

=======================

More and more hospitals are running their businesses like an assembly line. One fella walked into the emergency room and the nurse asked him what he had. He said, "Shingles." So she took down his name, address, medical insurance number, and told him to have a seat. Fifteen minutes later, a nurse's aide came out and asked him what he had. He said, "Shingles." So she took down his height, weight, a complete medical history, and told him to wait in an examining room. A half-hour later, another nurse came in and asked him what he had. He said, "Shingles." So she gave him a blood test, a blood pressure test, and electrocardiogram, told him to take off his clothes and wait for the doctor. An hour later, the doctor came in and asked him what he had. He said, "Shingles."

The doctor asked, "Where?"

He said, "Outside, in the truck. Where do you want 'em?"

= = = = = =

Answer to "Books of the Bible" Contributed by JOHN Kezer

I once made a reMARK about the hidden books of the Bible. It was a luLU, KEpt people looKING So hard for fACTS, and for others it was a REVELATION. Some were in a JAM, ESpecially since the names of the books are not capitalized, but the tRUTH finally struck home to NUMBERS of readers. To others, it was a real JOB. We want it to be A MOSt fascinating few moments for you. YES, there will be some really easy ones to spot. Others may require JUDGES to help them. I will quickly admiT IT USuall takes a minister to find one of the 17, and there will be loud LAMENTATIONS when it is found. A little lady says sHE BREWS a cup of tea so she can concentrate better. See how well you can comPETE. Relax now, for there really are the names of 17 books of the Bible in these sentences. One preacher found 16 books in 20 minutes. It took him three weeks to find the seventeenth one.

= = = = = =

www.topflightgrain.com

While Dick attended the National Grain & Feed Convention, many people in the ag industry complimented him on our Website. The compliments were greatly appreciated and we encourage you to visit it. The bids and market commentary are updated daily. It also contains our services, and our service rates, a calendar of events of our communities, and information about the company. We are in the process of updating it with pictures of the facilities, changing other pictures already on the site, and adding more market commentary.

We work with Virginia Dahms, of Kestrel Technologies in Bement, to have this work done. From a folder of pictures, notes, and post-it notes, she can make a Web page look good! Keep visiting our site, and let us know what else you would like to see included on it.

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