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Dec. 31, 2019 Source: Ken Quinn, President of the World Food Prize In 1999, having completed my tenure as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, I accepted John Ruan III's offer to return home to Iowa and assume leadership of the World Food Prize Foundation. I was leaving my assignment on the Mekong River to, in effect, come full circle on my diplomatic odyssey that had begun in 1964. Then, I drove across the Mississippi River from my home in Dubuque, Iowa to travel to Madison, Wisconsin to take the Foreign Service Exam that would lead to my State Department career. Now, 35 years later, having literally gone from "The Killing Fields" to "The Field of Dreams," I found I had two dreams to fulfill: Norman Borlaug's aspiration that the World Food Prize could come to be seen as the equivalent of a "Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture," and John Ruan Sr.'s vision of central Iowa being the "Food and Agricultural Capital of America." Sitting in a small, two-room office at the end of a dark corridor on the 10th floor of the Ruan office building in Des Moines, I questioned my judgment in retiring from the State Department to take on what now seemed like Mission Impossible. After all, I had only one employee, and the World Food Prize was essentially a one-day event that attracted only 25 to 30 people from outside Iowa. Adding to those extremely limited prospects was the fact that aside from John Ruan's generous endowment and an appropriation from the State of Iowa, there were only four donors who contributed a total of $45,000 to support World Food Prize programs. It seemed that, once again, I had made a "wrong turn" in my career. Still, I thought I should give it my best shot. With Norman Borlaug's extraordinary legacy of humanitarian achievements and John Ruan's financial support, it appeared that we should be able to make some headway. I was very fortunate that for the next 10 years Norm and I became partners in my efforts to fulfill their dreams. In this regard, it is essential that I also recognize the critical role played by John Ruan III in all of my endeavors. For the overwhelming majority of my tenure as President, John Ruan III was the Foundation Chairman, and he and I served as the entire legal governing body of the World Food Prize Foundation. It was only with John's trust in my plans and his confidence in me that we were able to transform the World Food Prize into the internationally renowned organization that it has become, attracting over 1,500 participants to Iowa each October for a week-long series of events, in addition to other impactful programs during the year. To view the entire report click here. Tweet |
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