4 SOURCE | Fall 2022
Reifsteck ( bottom far right ) from his Farm Bureau days
Looking Back on a Career of Leadership
GROWMARK ’ s chairman for the last decade to retire in December
Chris Grogan , GROWMARK Publications and Media Relations Manager cgrogan @ growmark . com
Reifsteck ’ s childhood photo
When I meet with John Reifsteck early on this late summer morning , he ’ s just getting out of a special GROWMARK Board of Directors meeting .
“ This job is not a full-time job but it ’ s definitely a full-time commitment ,” jokes Reifsteck . “ But it ’ s true that the last thing I do at night , and the first thing in the morning – is check my GROWMARK email or attend a meeting . It ’ s just the nature of the job that GROWMARK takes precedence . I ’ m looking forward to taking a step back .”
That step back will happen in December when Reifsteck will retire from the GROWMARK Board of Directors after almost 30 years , the last ten of which he has held the position of Chairman .
Reifsteck tells me while he enjoyed farming when he was growing up on his family ’ s farm near Champaign , Illinois , he wasn ’ t sure that it was the job for him full-time .
“ Things were different back then and I thought I would need a solid income from another job to be able to make ends meet ,” adds Reifsteck . “ After graduating from the University of Illinois , I thought I might go to law school . But my father wanted to retire , and I knew that I had a choice to make , and that was to continue farming here just like my father and grandfather had done since the early 1900s .”
During the first few years of his farming career , Reifsteck would substitute teach