Tom Iacarella continued to do what he does well, providing exactly the information required when required and filling in when necessary. Dan Rykhus is nearly ready for his new role as he displays excellent thoughtfullness and articulating ability in conference calls. His expertise is expanding as Matt Burkhart takes over Applied Technology day to day. I expect West and Groninger and Bair to also be somewhat more visible as Dan becomes the leader, but needs to gain confidence in his role handling all divisions. Ron managed so tightly after 34 years of management experience in Raven, that there is no way Dan will be as confident or intimately involved in all operations. I expect Dan to be a fairly strong manager, to maintain most of the moral fiber of the company, but also to delegate responsibility to a greater extent.

I really have to admire Raven for being able to develop and retain such talented people. I applaud Ron for his decision to not remain on the board after he retires, though I really hope that after a couple of years of distancing himself from operations he will consider going back on the board. It will be interesting to see what he does with himself after retirement I think. His involvement with tearing down that old grain elevator and building a new central city complex, with the hospital board, and with some educational endeavors suggest to me that he does not expect to retire from everything. His wisdom and skills could be useful for some larger company boards around the nation as I'd trust his detachment and judgement above most other people I see populating them. If I dominated a moral and idealistic company, I'd want Ron Moquist on our board--but I suspect most companies might not want a really independent director.

Where did all this start? I've lost it and so: best, L.