Mark E. Frels, CAE (Ret) was born and raised on a multigenerational
family grain and livestock farm in Rock Island
County, Illinois. He is an honors graduate of Iowa Wesleyan
University. Mark parti...voir plusMark E. Frels, CAE (Ret) was born and raised on a multigenerational
family grain and livestock farm in Rock Island
County, Illinois. He is an honors graduate of Iowa Wesleyan
University. Mark participated in many student organizations,
including yearbook, newspaper, and varsity baseball.
Mark completed two study terms at a young age at the University
of Madrid, Madrid Spain through the auspices of Augustana
College in Rock Island, Illinois. He held an internship as a radio
announcer during his college years at KILJ Radio in Mt. Pleasant,
Iowa. During the summers, he was employed by the USDA Soil
Conservation Service as a survey technician assistant.
Mark began full-time employment with the Illinois Farm Bureau
(corporately known as the Illinois Agricultural Association) in
1977 and completed over 35 years of service with that association.
The Illinois Farm Bureau is the state’s largest volunteer membership
association of farmers and those supporting agriculture with
approximately 400,000 members. It is one of the largest state
Farm Bureau membership organizations in the country.
Mark began his work for Illinois Farm Bureau as a county Farm
Bureau manager trainee in 1977 and, in that same year, was hired
as the Knox County Farm Bureau manager at Galesburg, Illinois,
a position he held for approximately 10 years. Mark then moved
to a regional manager position covering the northern one-third
of the state working with county Farm Bureau association boards
and managers on behalf of the Illinois Farm Bureau. Following
several years as a regional manager, he became the Illinois Farmvoir moins