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NORMAL (March 28, 2007) — The Children’s Discovery Museum in
Normal, today
received donations totaling $5,000 to help maintain
and further develop its “AgMazing” agricultural exhibit.
The two $2,500 donations come from Denver-based CoBank and
Normal-based 1st Farm Credit Services, two
members of the national Farm Credit System.
The CoBank donation is being made on behalf of Daniel T.
Kelley, a director and first vice chairman on the
cooperative bank’s board, as part of the bank’s corporate
giving program. CoBank provides funds on behalf of its
employees and directors to support the communities where
they live and work. Kelley, who is also
chairman of the board and
president of GROWMARK, Inc., and a partner in a grain farm
near Normal, is a member of the design and steering
committee of the Children’s Discovery Museum.
“I strongly support CoBank’s philosophy of giving back to
our communities,” says Kelley. “I’m particularly proud to
be able to provide this funding to the Children’s Discovery
Museum to help continue its efforts to educate local youth
about our country’s agricultural system.”
Both CoBank and 1st Farm Credit Services also
provided funds to the Children’s Discovery Museum in 2006
for the creation of the $1 million AgMazing exhibit.
“We believe that it’s important for children to learn about
the critical role that America’s farmers play in our
society,” says Gary Ash, president and CEO of 1st
Farm Credit Services. “As participants in the agricultural
community, both nationally and in Illinois, it’s appropriate
for
1st Farm Credit Services and CoBank to support
such an important educational project as the AgMazing
exhibit.”
“CoBank is a cooperative bank with a rich history of
improving the quality of life in rural America,” says CoBank
President and CEO Robert B. Engel. “The Farm Credit
System’s cooperative heritage demonstrates that by working
together, people can accomplish great things for their
neighbors, communities and country.”
As Rural America’s Cooperative Bank, the $41 billion CoBank
provides loans, leases and other financial solutions to
agricultural cooperatives, agribusinesses, Farm Credit
associations, and rural energy, communications, and water
companies. The bank also finances agricultural exports.
CoBank has a national office in Denver and banking centers
throughout the U.S. including offices in St. Louis, Omaha,
Minneapolis, Wichita, and Louisville. You can learn more
about CoBank at www.cobank.com.
1st Farm Credit Services, a farmer-owned
cooperative with $2.1 billion in loan and lease volume,
serves 42 counties in northern Illinois through its 21 local
offices. It leads the industry in farm real estate loans,
and provides various services such as crop insurance, loan
and lease options, as well as farmland appraisals. For more
information, visit www.usfarmcredit.com.
CoBank and 1st Farm Credit Services are both
members of the Farm Credit System, a
$163 billion network of lending institutions serving
agriculture and rural America. |
