Garst Seed Company officials announced several top management promotions during the company's 2000 National Management Conference and Sales Meeting in Kansas City, Missouri. The promotions were effective immediately.

Dr. W. David Witherspoon (photo) is promoted to President of Garst Seed Company, moving up from the Vice President position he held since September 1999, and Steve Klein is named as the new Director of Marketing for Garst.

Former President Col Seccombe will be relocating to his native Australia, where he will continue to serve as Regional Director for Garst's parent company, Advanta, with management responsibilities for Australia, Asia, Africa and North America business. "I am very pleased to announce the promotion of David Witherspoon to President of Garst," says Col Seccombe, president and CEO. "David's knowledge, experience and understanding of the key aspects of the
seed business speak volumes about the future of Garst Seed Company." 

Under the leadership of Seccombe and Witherspoon, the company has recorded an industry-leading six consecutive years of growth, including the 2000 sales year, both in total
seed volume sold and overall market-share increases.

Witherspoon was named Vice President of Garst in September of 1999 and prior to that, served as the Director of Marketing for Garst as well as the AgriPro Seeds brand.

Dr. W. David Witherspoon graduated from The Citadel with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology; Clemson University with an Masters of Science in Agronomy and earned his doctorate at North Carolina State University in Crop Science (plant breeding). 

Witherspoon has been with Garst Seed Company since July of 1987 when he started as a Corn Breeder and Research Station Manager at the company's Marshall, Missouri facility. He was promoted to Field Business Manager in June of 1994 and managed the Garst sales force in the southern United States. In July of 1996, Witherspoon became Field Business Manager for Iowa and in August of 1997, was promoted to Director of Marketing at the company's Slater, Iowa research and corporate headquarters.

Witherspoon, a native of South Carolina, his wife Louise and three children now live in Ankeny, Iowa. In his spare time, David is a youth soccer coach and enjoys golf and is a licensed S.C.U.B.A diver.

During the Garst National Sales Meeting, President David Witherspoon announced the promotion of Steve Klein to the Director of Marketing position. In this position, Klein will oversee all the marketing, product management, and communications programs for Garst, as well as the AgriPro, Gutwein and PSA brands. Klein will be part of the management team reporting to Witherspoon.

A native of LeMars, Iowa, Klein received his Bachelor's of Science degree in Plant Sciences from Utah State University in 1987 and his Masters of Science degree in Agronomy from Iowa State University in 1989. Klein started his employment with Garst Seed Company in January of 1990 as an Area Agronomist with responsibilities in Minnesota, South Dakota and northwestern Iowa. In June of 1993, he was promoted to Agronomy Services Manager for Garst's North Division, overseeing the Field Agronomy Staff. And on June 1, 1996, Klein was promoted to Field Business Manager and managed the sales force and agronomy services in the North Region, including Northern Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota.

Klein and his wife Bonnie, an elementary teacher, and their three daughters, will be relocating to central Iowa where he will work out of Garst's corporate and research headquarters at Slater. Klein is an avid outdoorsman, enjoying fishing, hiking and spending time with his active family.

Garst Seed Company is the largest member of the Advanta group of companies. With corporate and research headquarters in Slater, Iowa, Garst, along with AgriPro, AgriPro Wheat, Interstate Seeds, Gutwein Seeds and PSA Genetics are key components in Advanta's worldwide seed technology network that includes research, development and breeding facilities in 14 U.S. states and in 12 countries around the globe. Together, Advanta is one of the top five seed companies in the world.

Company news release
N2812