First District Association is honored to announce that Bob Huffman will be the next CEO/President of FDA effective July 1, 2019.

Along with his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Evangel University, Bob brings 13 years of progressive dairy industry operations management experience…both large single plant and multi-plant.  He has experience in all aspects of milk intake, block and barrel cheese and whey operations.  Bob has invested a lot of his time learning the technical side of dairy processing which ultimately brought him to DFA (Dairy Farmers of America) where he progressed quickly as their current Vice President of Manufacturing Operations for multiple plants across the US.

Bob, and wife Jennifer, currently live in Bonner Springs, KS and are looking forward to the move to Central Minnesota.  They have a soft spot for Rural America, agricultural communities and enjoy outdoor activities.  Bob and Jennifer have three children.  Daughter (19) attends and plays volleyball at Northeastern Oklahoma University. Son (12) and daughter (7) keep them busy with school and community events.  With a busy family, Bob respects a reasonable work-life balance and the entire family gets involved in the community in which they live.

Bob has a passion for successfully fostering and sustaining both member patron and customer relationships, building trust and discovering the strategy that works best with the Cooperative to achieve desired member, industry and business goals.  He is a firm believer in leading by example and that it all starts with core ethics and values.  Bob states, “The dairy farmers have the strongest values on Earth and hold the most ethical integrity I have witnessed.  I believe it is all about doing the right thing, even though the right thing may sometimes be hard…it is still the right thing.”  Bob believes that a culture of member engagement, transparency and strong leadership are key and that a team of employees that are passionately aligned with these values and goals are most definitely unstoppable.

Everyone at First District Association would like to extend a warm welcome to Bob and his family.  As our next CEO/President, we look forward to Bob’s leadership and the future success that lies ahead for FDA, its member patrons and the dairy industry.  Welcome!

Josh Barka, Board Chair