Why I Believe In IAOM ... Joe Woodard, ADM Milling Co.

Joe Woodard

Regional Operations Director

ADM Milling Co.

Arkansas City, KS

IAOM Member Since 1983

“I became an IAOM member around 1983. At that time, it was not yet an international association, but we met once a month if you lived in the district.

There was a benefit to the camaraderie of getting together with fellow people in the milling industry and learning and exchanging ideas – that’s what drew me to IAOM initially.

“Since that time, I have served on district committees and been the district chairman. I also sat on the board of directors, and I sit on the Education Committee currently.

I became president of IAOM in 2012, and my slogan was, ‘Milling is a lost art,’ because I really think it is.

“As time goes on, we become more modernized, more automated, and the art of milling isn’t exactly what it used to be.

That’s probably why I’m still sitting on the Education Committee today, to help new, younger people getting into our industry.

“To me, a lot of people don’t realize that there’s much more to milling than meets the eye, and IAOM is representative of all millers all over the world.

“Overall, the main benefit of being an IAOM member is the education it offers.

It’s a tight-knit group, and we swap ideas and information to help each other.

For example, the opportunities of learning from other people’s positive moments, and also maybe some things that weren’t so successful with other companies – things that didn’t work – can help others succeed.

Maybe you can nip problems in the bud before they hurt people.

“The networking and idea sharing in IAOM is a great way to bring everybody together, either quarterly or yearly for our national convention.

I totally recommend it. I still support it, and in my own company, I’m always trying to find young, new people coming into our workforce and getting them involved with IAOM, hopefully so they can grow.

This helps themselves and their company as well as the milling industry.”

From Second Quarter MILLING JOURNAL 2019