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My greatest memories are really from my time on the farm . It ’ s something I really miss and always wanted to get back to , so that ’ s what really led me to where I am today , being involved in agriculture and our noble purpose to feed and fuel the world .
SOURCE | Spring 2022 7
Mark Orr , GROWMARK Chief Executive Officer
” get home from work and my wife would pass Madden to me and say , ‘ he ’ s yours for the next few hours .’”
His middle son attends Illinois State University , so Orr says they see him quite frequently ; and his oldest is in Dallas , Texas .
To decompress , Orr says he enjoys DIY projects and being outdoors . One project he will never regret was restoring one of his dad ’ s oldest tractors with his oldest son . Bringing the history of his family farm to his sons is something they will always remember .
“ We probably spent more than three times what it ’ s worth , but it was a really fun project ,” jokes Orr .
As a family , they have visited several national parks and enjoy snowmobiling together . And in the summer , they have a small farm north of Princeton , Illinois , where they spend a lot of time together .
“ It ’ s extremely important to take those days and unwind ,” Orr adds . “ I ’ m not the best at taking all of my PTO at times , but I am working at taking more of that time to spend with family .”
It ’ s certainly been a busy few months for Orr , filling several key positions within GROWMARK due to recent retirements , along with handling the day-to-day duties of CEO . But Orr says his leadership style is all about empowering those he works with .
“ My leadership style is really to get people aligned around strategy and then get to work on running the business without overmanaging how they do that ,” Orr says . “ It ’ s also so important to continue learning and be open to new voices . When we value the opinions of everyone , we then end up in a much , much better place .”