Publish date: 11/10/23
To celebrate the end of a successful fiscal year, ABS Global hosted an ICON Club celebration in Wisconsin in October. We welcomed a group of ICON Club honorees and several guests to recognize them for their hard work and continued dedication to ABS. An ICON Club member is an individual who goes above and beyond, improving customer herds and helping our business reach its goals. The ICON Club is our way of showing our appreciation to those who live our vision, pioneering animal genetics to help nourish the world, every day.
Honorees were selected based on either their high performance as a member of the sales team or by being nominated from fellow colleagues. With ‘People-Focused’ as one of our Genus values, the event gave us the opportunity to recognize our people because we know our people are our best asset.
Honorees spanned from California to Virginia and Quebec to Texas. We recognized 37 ABS Employees and Representatives from both the dairy and beef sides of the business for their achievements.
During the three-day celebration, attendees took part in tours and panel discussions. The tours included visiting our IntelliGen facility and a chance to see the largest production site of Sexcel, a visit to our state-of-the-art bull barns, and a stop at our facility that houses our NuEra Genetics. Participants were also able to join three panel discussions which revolved around sustainability, the beef supply industry, and Genus’ Research and Development efforts. Panel members included industry experts and ABS team members from across the globe.
Get a glimpse of the celebrations:
Here is what a few honorees had to say after the award ceremony.
“I had the distinct privilege to honor many outstanding people during this year’s ICON Club event and was proud to recognize all the hard work and dedication they give to ABS. Not to mention, the tremendous support their families give to our company by supporting these high-achieving individuals day in and day out. We truly have the best people in the industry at ABS, and this event allowed us to highlight their talent and successes.”
Curtis Harms, NA Regional Sales Director
“The best part of the ICON Club event was being with people I see myself wanting to be. There were a lot of people in the room that I look up to, and I am honored to have received this award.”
Sarah Morton, Entrepreneurial Spirit Award Winner
“I am glad to be a part of this company. The ICON Club celebration was a fantastic opportunity to get together and be with the people that work so hard for this company. It was also an opportunity for my wife to come here and to learn more about what I do. I am thankful to work for this company, and I plan on being with ABS for many years.”
Jesus Berumen, Genus Value: Customer Centric Award Winner
Recognizing This Year’s ICONs
Excellence in Dairy Sales Performance
- Jonathan Barnes
- Brandon Denton
- William Fien
- Peter Koszelak
- Keith Nettekoven
- Chris Nooyen
- Chad Partington
- Eric Schulenburg
- Mark Sherwood
- Phil Wait
- Dave Armstead
- Ken Drew
- Bob Driesenga
- Andrew Flokstra
- Jason Griffith
- Kevin Hatch
- Simon Hewett
- Dale Pahel E
- Ryan Ridge
- Dale Van Sickle
- Kaleb Varrelmann
Excellence in Beef Sales Performance
- Travis Chrisman
- Travis Cline
- Kristina Porter
- Mark Sexton
North America Special Honorees
- Charlie Giron, Rookie of the Year
- Sarah Morton, Entrepreneurial Spirit
- Zach Berry, Entrepreneurial Spirit
- Adrianne Trennepohl, Ultimate Contributor
- Thays Avila, Ultimate Contributor
North America Genus Values Honorees
- Jesus Berumen, Customer Centric
- Heather Chauhan, Results Driven
- Kendra Lafrenz and Trent Olson, Pioneering
- Wayne DeBuhr, People Focused
- Alan Carlon, Responsible
ICON Club is always a great opportunity to celebrate and network with peers and learn more about the future at ABS Global. Without the great people that make up ABS Global, we would not be able to serve our customers like we do. Those in the ICON Club truly allow us to achieve our vision of pioneering animal genetic improvement to help nourish the world.
Congratulations to all our 2023 ICON Club award recipients! We sincerely thank you for all your hard work and dedication to ABS Global!
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