Dear Golden Growers Member,

Golden Growers is pleased to help create The Patrick Benedict Memorial Harvest Bowl Scholarship.

Pat was the chairman of Golden Growers’ founding board and was elected to serve as the Cooperative’s first Chairman.  He was also the first Chairman of the  ProGold LLC Board  of Governors.   Pat continued as a Director of Golden Growers until his term limit in March 2010. Tragically, Pat died in an auto accident just one month after he retired from our boards.

All of us benefited from Pat’s friendship, leadership, and perseverance. No one fought harder than Pat for for Golden Growers during our difficult early years, and no one was prouder of our recent success. Those who knew Pat best often refer to his honesty, his integrity and his deep personal commitment to Golden Growers.

The scholarship endowment to provides aid to one or more NDSU students each year, in perpetuity.

Recipients of the scholarship will meet the following criteria;

  • Born or raised on a ND, MN, SD farm OR be pursuing a degree in an agricultural field of study.
  • Be a properly enrolled NDSU student that is at least a sophomore in status
  • Preference for the scholarship is for a student-athlete competing in:
    • Intercollegiate men’s wrestling; or
    • Intercollegiate female student athelete

The fund will is managed by the North Dakota State University Development Foundation. Because the foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit, contributions to this fund are tax deductible.

Any gift you are able to make to this fund will be greatly appreciated and will help many future NDSU students reach their goals. While our appeal for contributions goes far beyond Golden Growers’ members, we know our members will help place this fund on solid ground.

Contributions can be made by going to the NDSU Development Foundation website and clicking the ‘Give’ tab.  Select ‘Other’ on the Designation drop down menu and then write in ‘Patrick Benedict Memorial Harvest Bowl Scholarship’ on the line immediately below.

Please give thoughtful consideration to Pat Benedict’s contributions as a friend and a leader in agriculture, business, and our larger community. His lifetime of work created opportunities and benefits for all of us. It is fitting we remember him in this way.

And – especially – accept our thanks for your continued loyalty to the organization Pat helped create.

Best Regards,

Scott Stofferahn

Executive Vice President

Golden Growers Cooperative