The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) recognized Mary Palmer Sullivan for her 35 years of service to the organization at the Council’s 63rd Annual Board of Delegates Meeting in Calgary, Canada, held July 26-28.
Sullivan serves as vice president of the Washington Grain Commission (WGC), where she oversees research and promotion of Washington barley and wheat. She also assists with overseas market development and organizing trade team visits to Washington.
“This is the only job I’ve ever had, but it’s evolved. I started out in barley in 1988 and got involved with the Council right after that,” Sullivan said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, it’s what I like to do and I’ll probably continue to do it until I retire.”
She vividly remembers planning logistics for a Council trade team of more than 20 Japanese buyers and researchers to visit Washington dairy operations, and then being unexpectedly asked to help lead the team herself just a month into the job.
“Was it hectic? Yeah. Did I love every minute of it? Yes, I did,” Sullivan said. “That was my experience with the Council, seeing that this is what it provides and this is what I want to do.”
Since then, Sullivan has welcomed barley teams from China, Cyprus, Japan, Korea, Latin America and Taiwan and continues to bring more than a dozen groups to the state per year between her work with barley and wheat.
“Washington is a trade-dependent state, and the Council has contacts around the world to reach current and potential customers,” Sullivan said. “This is an investment that growers make to become even more competitive in global markets.”
One of her favorite memories is traveling to Japan every six months to meet with barley industry leaders in the 1990s when grain purchases shifted from single-desk selling through the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to simultaneous buying and selling, which contributed to U.S. barley achieving a 60 percent market share there.
Out of the office, Sullivan stays busy with her three grandchildren and has taken an interest in fishing after a recent trip to Alaska with her father.
Please join the Council in congratulating Mary for her 35 years of service!
About The U.S. Grains Council
The U.S. Grains Council develops export markets for U.S. barley, corn, sorghum and related products including distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and ethanol. With full-time presence in 28 locations, the Council operates programs in more than 50 countries and the European Union. The Council believes exports are vital to global economic development and to U.S. agriculture’s profitability. Detailed information about the Council and its programs is online at www.grains.org.