The Right
ST. LOUIS, Mo. Recen
tly, Sharon Wencker tracked
down the 800-number for a
major manufacturing of plastic
wrap. This week, she helped a
sixth grader squeak by on a
homework report due two days
from now. And every day, Sha
ron speculates on what the
weather will do.
Sharon is the first voice you
hear when you call the Nation
al Com Growers Association
(NCGA). As the receptionist,
Sharon welcomes rushed
appointment holders and stray
walk-ins with reassuring fines
se. But her passion is the
switchboard. Sharon handles
eight phone lines, which ting
ISO to 200 times a day. Each
time, Sharon greets callers with
professional courtesy colored
with heartfelt warmth.
“I love the phones,” said
Sharon. “I’m the caller’s first
impression of the National
Com Growers Association. I
make that person feel comfort
able in calling. And I assist
them in reaching the right per
son. It’s an art. At the same
time, it’s a challenge.”
Usually, less than 10 percent
of the calls NCGA receives
come from com growers, Sha
ron calculates. “Unless it’s
close to a deadline for Com
Classic or the National Com
Yield Contest,” she said with a
laugh, “then farmers flood the
phones for a day.”
But on a typical day, 90-plus
I CORN GROWERS SPECIAL
SHOWCASE STAIi CO.
m * “
. VVT „ t , Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 9,1995-P»ae 21
Ring, Well Answered ~
percent of the calls are an
eclectic mix of legislators, gov
ernment officials, researchers,
industry representatives and
school-children from across
the country and overseas. In
one day, for instance, urban
callers included a reporter from
the newspaper Sacramento
Bee, an editor from Bon Appe
tite magazine, a researcher
from Japan, and a entrepreneur
from New Zealand.
And then there are those
callers that only seem to fit in
the “other” category, such as
the man seeking information
on plastic wrap. He called
Corn Growers Contribute To Flood Relief
ST. LOUIS. Mo. The
National Com Growers Asso
ciation (NCGA) will contribute
$lO,OOO to the American Red
Cross to help support flood vic
tims in rural areas of the
Midwest.
NCGA’s contribution is
being matched by Monsanto
Company of St. Louis. In addi
tion to donating $1 million
directly to the Red Cross. Mon
santo has allocated another $1
million to be used to match
individual or business contri
butions on a dollar for dollar
basis, according to Hendrick
A. Verfaillie, President of the
Monsanto Agricultural Group.
“Farmers have been unable
Totally Balanced Programs For: DAIRY, BEEF, SWINE, HORSES, SOIL, CROPS
All Programs Are Totally Balanced Around Homegrown Feedstuffs And Soil
WMMM 1
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NCGA because he knew com
growers promote corn-based
degradable plastics. Or there
was the Nebraska woman
extremely excited about mak- , k right away
mg com Hakes. Not just a few „ understandably, get
com flakes, exmpahsized Sha- impatiem _ particularly If
ran but a whole tmcktoad development on ilba-
Sharon patiently fields h sald , s haioll
wrong numbers. Doctors often ‘"..“ I ”v“
gyn 11 urantinir *a Umahi Jf » IfttCS til3t WtlCll Ct 1131101 ITI3KCS
fms^S&s^;^^ej«., to es.fl.enumbe ro f phone
ered. While Sharon can talk calls Jumps t 0 300 ***■
weather, medical advice is out
of her league.
Some of the most difficult
calls come from media. “Usu
ally broadcasters or reporters
work on deadline. They need to
to plant crops, others have had
com destroyed by the flooding,
and many will have significant
.reductions in yields due to
saturated soils and unusually
cool temperatures. NCGA’s
contribution is intended to help
those farmers,” said Randy
Cruise, NCGA president and
com farmer from Pleasaanton.
Neb.
Cruise said that NCGA lead-
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796 Ballavua Ava. Rt. 3 Box 159
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717-442-8445 814-787-0651
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{W_L/| 3807 U 8 62
Millerabnrg, Ohio 44684
OPS
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PENNSYLVANIA MASTER CORN GROWERS ASSOC., INC.
A greeting from Sharon also
softens unhappy callers. “If a
caller has a bad day, I’m a buf
fer. I don’t take criticism per
sonally. That usually makes
thejn feel better about calling.”
ership encourages and chal
lenges its 24 affiliated state
associations to also contribute
to flood relief for farmers and
other rural residents through
the Monsanto Company’s
Matching Fund program.
Contributions to this flood
relief effort may be made with
a credit card contribution by
calling (800) 842-2200 and
SOIL
PROFI
Sylvan Smoker Stanley W. Carper Melvin M. Lapp
Rl. 1 Box 12 Zook Rd. RD 1 Box 236 250 Little Baavar Rd.
Atglan, PA 19310 Tyrona, PA 16686 Straaburg, PA 17579
215-593-2831 814-684-3465 , 717-687-8337
Talaphona (216) 693-2732
Toll Fnt 1-600-544-7122 (In Ohio)
Toll Fraa 1-600-366-6692 (outoido Ohio)
Fax (216) 193-3317
Sharon emphaiszes that
teamwork makes her job a
smooth-running success. “At
the National Com Growers
Association, each person is
treated with respect and cour
tesy. I enjoy conveying that
feeling to callers,” she said.
Sharon carefully considers
each phone call as she answers
it. To her, the most important
message is the one she shares
first: “Thank you for calling
the National Com Growers
Association.”
designating “Monsanto Match
ing Contributions.” Or a check
can be sent to the American
Red Cross Rural Flood Relief,
Monsanto Matching Contribu
tions, P.O. Box 66921, St.
Louis, MO 63166-6692.
Checks should be marked
“Monsanto Matching
Account” to be eligible for
matching funds.
“Efficiency Is *•
The Key To Profit”