Garst Seed Company recently announced the promotions of Craig Hellyer, Tracy Norcross and Bill Gilbert to regional sales managers.

“These three individuals have done a tremendous job in building customer relationships and increasing business,” says David Witherspoon, head of Garst Seed Company. “They’ll be able to use these same skills to lead their new sales teams.”

Craig Hellyer is the new regional sales manager for Illinois where he will oversee sales for the northern two-thirds of the state. He will be based in Davenport, Iowa.

Prior to his promotion, Hellyer spent seven years as a district sales manager in southwest Iowa. Part of his responsibilities included developing and implementing sales training and orientation programs. Prior to joining Garst, Hellyer held sales and training positions with MoorMan’s Feed.

Hellyer earned both his master’s degree in agricultural education and his bachelor’s degree in animal science from Iowa State University.

Tracy Norcross will lead the newly formed Southern Corn Belt Region that includes southern Illinois, Missouri and eastern Kansas. He will be based in St. Joseph, Mo.

Most recently, Norcross spent six years as a district sales manager in northwest Missouri where he also was responsible for sales training in the region. Prior to joining Garst, Norcross held sales and management positions in the feed and automobile industries.

Norcross earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Bill Gilbert was named the regional sales manager for the newly formed High Plains Region that includes Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, western Kansas, the Texas Panhandle, and parts of Wyoming, Montana and New Mexico.

For the last seven years, Gilbert was an area agronomist based in Fort Collins, Colo. In 2003, Gilbert received the company’s area agronomist of the year award. Prior to joining Garst, Gilbert was a sales representative for Super Crost Seed and owned his own consulting business.

Gilbert earned his master’s degree in agronomy from Colorado State University and a bachelor’s degree in soil science from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

Garst Seed Company, with headquarters in Slater, Iowa, provides seed solutions for growers across North America with high yielding corn, soybean, sorghum, alfalfa and sunflower products.

Garst Seed Company is affiliated with Syngenta, a world-leading agribusiness committed to sustainable agriculture through innovative research and technology. Syngenta is a leader in crop protection, and ranks third in the high-value commercial seeds market. Sales in 2004 were approximately $7.3 billion. Syngenta employs some 19,000 people in over 90 countries.  Syngenta is listed on the Swiss stock exchange (SYNN) and in New York (SYT).