A Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board (WSMB) meeting doesn’t typically conclude with a heartfelt speech spoken between tears, but September’s meeting was an exception, marking Pat Mullooly’s final meeting as president of the organization, a role he took to heart.  

“This is really a great group of people that bring a lot to the table,” Mullooly said reflecting on the group he’s led for the past few years. “For every single meeting they take time out of their operations to be involved in the checkoff and do their best to spend it wisely.” 

Mullooly guided WSMB during a difficult period when former executive director Robert Karls passed away in 2022. Mullooly and the rest of the board turned that tragic loss into an opportunity to keep steering the organization in the right direction with a fresh perspective.   

“I worked with Pat over a two-year period as being president of WSA and in that time is when Bob passed away. Once he passed away, we were really close on a daily basis,” said Steve Trzebiatowski, director of the Wisconsin Soybean Association (WSA). “It was a tough time, but we made a lot of progress and it worked out well.” 

Just like with any organization, varying perspectives between a seven-member board can create tension at times, but Mullooly said it’s that same tension that helped them grow to where they are today.  

“During my time as president we obviously had some challenging times and the collaboration with WSA really helped us get the ship upright,” Mullooly said.  

While he no longer holds the title of president, Mullooly will remain a WSMB director and says he is excited to still play a role in the future of the organization.  

“We’re not at full speed yet, but I’m proud to be around yet to support the progress,” he said. “We’ve got new leadership, and it’s always good to change things up and proceed forward.”  

Jonathan Gibbs has taken over as president of WSMB. Gibbs, who farms in Fox Lake and has been on the board since 2013, transitioned to his role as secretary/treasurer.  

“Pat was a great leader and respecting his time and what he desires during his time on the board and outside of the board, he was looking to make the transition, and I am looking forward to the challenge and opportunity that lies ahead,” Gibbs said.  

Mullooly agrees there are plenty of opportunities on the horizon for WSMB to find new ways to represent Wisconsin’s nearly 14,000 soybean growers.  

“We’ve got a lot of great things ahead,” he said. “Our budget this year with soybean prices might be down, but we still have our rainy-day fund, where we’ll continue to fund research projects, continue our work promoting the Port of Milwaukee and the St. Lawrence Seaway and keep finding ways to get new markets.”