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Association Business HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS NAMED AT ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PAA

E O R I A N I . ~ U ~

Florian I. Lauer was born in Farming, a small hamlet on Stearns County, Minnesota in September 1928. In 1946 he graduated from The School of Agriculture, University of Minnesota, St. Paul. Florian attended the Univer- sity of Minnesota from 1947 to 1951 obtaining his BS degree with distinc- tion in Science Specialization. Dr. Lauer continued his studies and received his doctoral degree in Horticulture and Plant Genetics in 1957. He has been with the University of Minnesota his entire career and is a Professor with the Department of Horticulture Science. Dr. Lauer's primary research accomplishments have been in potato breeding and genetics with empha-

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sis on use of exotic germplasm and resistance to pests. Specific topics in- cluded enhancement of S. andigena, factors affecting unreduced male ga- mete functioning; reciprocal differences in S. tuberosum-S, phureja hybrids, breeding behavior of S. chacoense-S, phureja hybrids, effective population sizes, breeding behavior of resistance to Verticillium wilt, and to green peach aphid. Other major accomplishments during Dr. Lauer's career include:

1. Development of in vitro techniques for maintenance and rapid mul- tiplication of potato;

2. Effective transfer of in vitro techniques to the industry by helping many seed growers in Minnesota and North Dakota in development of their own tissue culture operations;

3. Developing an in vitro potato bank for the industry at the University of Minnesota;

4. Found that it may be possible to use up to 50% exotic germplasm in potato cultivar development. The viable cultivar (Krantz) has 44% exotic germplasm in its pedigree; and

5. Demonstrated that high resistance to Verticillium could be combined in a cultivar. Reddale, with high yield and resistance to Verticillium wilt is readily transmissible.

Dr. Lauer has also been involved in advising graduate students and teach- ing responsibilities at the University of Minnesota. He has advised 16 Ph.D. and 10 MS students. His graduate students include students from the Phil- ippines, Morocco,Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. He also teaches an advanced course in Horticulture Plant Breeding and Breeding Asexually Propagated Crops.

Dr. Lauer has published over 60 referred articles in several professional journals and has published several hundred articles for extension, trade and grower publications.

During his career as a plant breeder he has released various cultivars that include Erik, Aggassiz, Reddale, Tolaas, Krantz, Eide Russet, Anoka, Red Ruby, and Itasca.

Other contributions from Dr. Lauer include the first report of a germplasm source capable of chipping from 40 F storage. He has also been very involved in potato germplasm preservation and utilization and has served as the North Central Region's representative on the IR-1 Technical Committee, now the NSRP-6 Technical Committee, since 1958. He has also been on the Potato Crop Advisory Committee since its inception.

Florian has spent countless, unselfish hours working with seed growers in Minnesota. He teaches growers how to set up their own tissue culture facilities and greenhouses for private and commercial mini-tuber produc- tion. Several seed growers have said that Florian has gone beyond the call of duty for the endless hours of driving and countless days and nights spent away from home.

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Florian has been very active in the potato industry serving as President of The Potato Association of America in 1991. He has received the Merito- rious Service Award from the Red River Valley Potato Growers Association in 1987 and Researcher of the Year presented by the National Potato Coun- cil in 1991. He has also been invited to speak at several national and inter- national meetings.

In August, Florian and Mary Ann will be celebrating their 40th wed- ding anniversary and have four children, Sarah, Sheila, Maureen and Paul.

Because of Florian's dedication and interest in the potato industry he will be long r emembered for his intensive work in potato breeding and genetics. It is a great hono r and privilege to present Florian Lauer for Hon- orary Life Member in The Potato Association of America.

Duane Preston

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ROBERT L. MERCER

Transformation of the potato 's public image f rom 'lust a starch" to "America's favorite vegetable" took place unde r the leadership of Bob Mer- cer, first Chief Executive Officer of the Potato Board. From the early 1970s Bob led the team that developed the first nutr i t ion label for a produce i tem and went on to educate consumers about the outstanding nutri t ional val- ues of potatoes. Today it's hard to find a person who doesn ' t know "it's no t the potato, it's what you put on it."

Bob grew up on a farm in Alberta, Canada, and later earned a bachelor 's degree in physics f rom Brigham Young University and a master's degree in agronomy from the University of Maine. His first job after graduation was in agricultural research at U.S. Steel.

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He managed R.T. French's raw products division for over 15 years, serv- ing with distinction on numerous commissions and boards. The Governor of Idaho gave him the award of highest merit for his work on the State Potato Advisory Committee.

For 22 years he headed the National Potato Promot ion Board, repre- senting America's potato growers. Under his leadership the Board became an example o f outstanding commodi ty promot ion , s tudied in business schools and emulated th roughout the industry.

In addit ion to turning a round the image of potatoes in the U.S., an- o ther of his major accomplishments at the Potato Board was initiating the export p rogram which has significantly increased d em an d for U.S. pota- toes overseas. On his many trips in the U.S. and overseas, his personal charm (and his wife Bev's) won numerous friends for the U.S. potato industry.

After re t i rement f rom the Board, Bob and Bev spent two years heading an LDS mission on the West Coast of Africa, where they no doubt created many more potato lovers along with their o ther good works.

A past president of The Potato Association of America, Bob is most respected for his leadership style which combines commi tmen t to the in- dustry with caring for the individual.

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ROBERT L. SANDERS

Robert L. Sanders is a native of Murray, Kentucky but grew up in Knox- ville, Tennessee. He comple ted a B.S. in Agriculture at the University of Tennessee in 1962, one year after marrying Shirley Steele of Harper, Or- egon. After a short association with the U.S. Forest Service, Bob and Shirley established a diversified farm at Harper in 1964 and produced potatoes, corn, hay, grain and beef cattle until 1989 when Bob assumed his cur ren t position as President of the Pacific Northwest Potato Trade and TariffAsso- ciation in Portland.

Bob has vigorously contr ibuted to his communi ty and the agricultural industry th roughout his career. He served as President of the Malheur County Ag Committee and Malheur County Potato Growers Association, as

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with state and local committees and agencies not directly related to pota- toes.

Bob's contributions have not gone entirely unnot iced. He received the Golden Potato Award from the National Potato Council (NPC) in 1986, was named Potato Man of the Year by the Packernewspaper in 1987 and was presented with a Distinguished Service Award by the Oregon Potato Com- mission in bo th 1989 and 1991.

Rober t Sanders has been an especially impor tant player in U.S. potato research and an anonymous benefac tor to scores of PAA scientists. As NPC Vice President for Governmental Relations, Bob was charged with develop- ing a national potato research initiative addressing priorities identified by an earlier grower survey. He rose to the challenge and, in concert with NPC colleagues, the PAA executive committee and selected members, he identified 45 scientists to write n ine nationally-oriented research propos- als. He then collated the proposals into a national research initiative for considerat ion and approval by the NPC. While most considered a new, na- tion-wide research initiative to be little more than a pipe dream, and some NPC members actively opposed the concept, Bob steadfastly carried the proposal over all hurdles. He then presented the NPC-sponsored program to various federal agencies, including the House and Senate Subcommit- tees on Rural Development and Agriculture, in a search for funding. His efforts were rewarded with first-year grants totaling $1.2 million in 1988 and a total o f more than $12.5 million since. Many PAA scientists are cur- rently indebted to this NPC/USDA competitive-grants p rogram and Rob- ert Sanders for much of their operat ing budget.

In recogni t ion of his tireless efforts on behalf of the potato industry and the scientists who serve it, it is an honor and privilege to present Mr. Robert Sanders for Honora ry Life Membership in The Potato Association of America.

Alvin Mosley