Jones Serves as GEAPS International President
Apr 19, 2021
Jeff Jones, MKC vice president and director of eastern operations, was elected in July 2020 to serve a one-year term as the international president for the Grain Elevator and Processing Society (GEAPS). GEAPS is an international professional association of individuals that work in the grain handling and processing industry. Since 1930, GEAPS has fostered leadership, innovation and excellence in grain-related industry operations.
Jones first became involved in the organization in 2013 after joining a local chapter meeting. Being new to the grain industry at the time, his inquisitiveness and unique skillset prompted an invitation to run for a board director position. Over the years, he worked his way to president of the Great Plains chapter.
As international president, Jones leads the executive committee, which develops GEAPS’ governance and operations policies and oversees financial and operations management services.
“My responsibility is to oversee the wellbeing of the organization,” Jones said. “I work in partnership with the executive director and lead the board through budgeting, growth and event discussion.”
GEAPS is a global network of industry professionals, with more than 2,000 individual members from 1,150 companies and organizations represented in over 20 countries. As the grain knowledge resource of the industry, GEAPS provides professional development and training to its members.
“The professional development offered by GEAPS is one of the biggest values to our members,” Jones said. “We provide safety trainings, in-depth company trainings and grain operations certifications. The second biggest value is the networking and growth opportunities.”
Once a year, GEAPS hosts its Exchange Conference where members connect and learn about the grain industry’s current happenings.
“This has been a trying year for GEAPS due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Jones said. “Our Exchange Conference in Minneapolis was canceled, and our Columbus conference was moved from March to August in the hopes we can host it in person.”
Jones said one of the most significant accomplishments from his term was the creation of a virtual Exchange Conference in place of the in-person convention.
“The Minneapolis Exchange was our main revenue generator,” Jones said. “We created a virtual version of the meeting, where we hosted over 350 people over a three-day span and still made money from it. It was a big win for us, though we look forward to the connection and contact we can have with members in-person.”
MKC has 17 employees who are currently members of the GEAPS Great Plains Chapter. Employees both receive and present training on soft skills, leadership, industry equipment, safety and grain quality. Through their involvement, MKC has been able to host meetings and vendors at its state-of-the-art shuttle loaders.
“At MKC, our tagline is “Shared Growth. Shared Success,” Jones said. “Our Board of Directors and executive team push us to seize opportunities that challenge us to grow. I can’t think of a better way to garner experience in this industry than my volunteer leadership opportunities with GEAPS. The amount of networking and knowledge sharing around safety, grain conditioning and processing is invaluable, and has provided numerous opportunities for MKC to sit on the board with the largest grain companies in the world and make those decisions that affect GEAPS and the grain industry.”
After his term concludes, Jones will transition to chairman of the board.