Michigan Sugar Company

After more than 40 years working in the finance industry, including the past two decades as Chief Financial Officer at Michigan Sugar Company, Brian Haraga has announced his plans to retire. A search is underway for his replacement, and he plans to step down later this year after a period of transition. Haraga has been with Michigan Sugar since 2003. Before that, he amassed more than 20 years of experience working in the automotive and shipbuilding industries. Highlights of Brian’s work at Michigan Sugar include securing financing for the company’s acquisition of Monitor Sugar Company in 2004, its purchase of a cane sugar refinery in 2016, and construction of a new molasses desugarization facility in Bay City that came online in May 2024. Most recently, he led an effort to secure a new Agent Bank and updated roster of bank partners for the cooperative. “With the recent completion of our molasses desugarization project, and the securing of a new Agent Bank, Michigan Sugar Company is on solid footing and has an incredibly bright future ahead,” said Haraga. “I joined this company shortly after it became a grower-owned cooperative in 2002, and it has been an honor to be part of its growth and prosperity over the past two decades. As I step away, I am confident that the executive leadership team, working in partnership with Michigan Sugar’s grower-owners and its 2,100 employees, will continue to set the bar for excellence in our industry.” Haraga earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Michigan State University and his master’s degree in business administration, specializing in finance, from Wayne State University. He became a Certified Public Accountant while working in Georgia in the early 1990s. Michigan Sugar Company President & CEO Neil Juhnke said Haraga leaves behind a legacy of solid financial leadership. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know Brian, as the man behind the numbers, so to speak, and want to personally thank him for his support during my first 18 months with Michigan Sugar. Brian is a great person with a huge heart,” he said. “His steady hand on the tiller has helped Michigan Sugar navigate through good times as well as challenging times. He richly deserves his retirement after more than two decades with the company. “I expect he may find himself on the golf course or engaged in a community building endeavor, but whatever Brian does next will be done with gusto.” Haraga is an avid golfer and sports fan, especially his beloved Michigan State University Spartans, the Great Lakes Loons and the Saginaw Spirit. He is a past volunteer for Junior Achievement and was named JA Volunteer of the Year in 2012. He is also past Treasurer of the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and past Chairman of the Mid America Cooperative Council. He and his wife Ann Marie live in Freeland, Michigan. The couple has two children – Christiaan and Shen.

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: Meet Dave Clark, the new Factory Manager at Michigan Sugar Company’s Caro facility. Dave is a native of Stearns, Kentucky, a small town about an hour and a half from Lexington. After graduating high school, he worked briefly in an airbag factory before taking a position as an Assistant Line Technician at The Clorox Company, where he was responsible for Kingsford charcoal packaging. In 2006, Dave moved to Commerce City, Colorado, for a role at ConAgra Foods as an Elevator Supervisor. During his time at ConAgra, Dave held a variety of positions in several different locations. He spent time as a Warehouse Supervisor, then moved to the San Francisco area to serve as a Production Manager. Dave was also a Production Manager at the company’s Ohio facility, as well as an Operations Manager in the York, Pennsylvania, plant. In 2010, Dave earned his degree in business administration and management from American InterContinental University. Dave’s career took him from Pennsylvania to Salina, Kansas, where he worked for Scoular, an agricultural supply chain company that is focused on the buying, selling, storing, handling, and processing of grain, feed, and food ingredients. Dave served as the Superintendent of the company’s grain elevator. In 2016, Dave took a role as the Plant Manager at Panhandle Milling in Dawn, Texas, a company that specializes in flour milling. After two years there, he transitioned to Pipeline Foods, where he was the Facility Manager at both the Atlantic, Iowa, and Hope, Minnesota, locations. Dave’s most recent role was as a Plant Manager for Bunge North America, a global agribusiness and food company, in Kankakee, Illinois, about 70 miles south of Chicago. He started his role at Michigan Sugar Company in June, replacing Josh Taylor as Factory Manager. Josh, who led his team in Caro to be 2023-2024 Campaign Champions, is now Michigan Sugar's Senior Maintenance Manager. “The sugar industry is exciting,” Dave said. “I can’t wait to see the factory in full production when harvest begins. The people, the supervisors … everyone here in Caro has been great and incredibly friendly.” Dave, his wife Wendy, and their daughter Jasmine are looking forward to settling down in the Vassar area with their three West Highland White Terriers - Skip, Sunny, and Gracie. Dave enjoys golfing, exercising, and restoring cars; he is currently working on a 1967 Mustang. He also can’t wait to experience walleye fishing in Michigan. #employeespotlight #PlantYourCareer #SWEETJOBS #MakingLifeSweeter #CreatingGrowthandOpportunity

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: Michigan Sugar Company welcomes Vern Whaley as its new Benefits & Retirement Plan Manager. He joined the company on Monday, July 15, working out of the Corporate Office in Bay City. A native of Chicago, Vern graduated from Maine South High School in Park Ridge, Illinois, in 1980. After attending Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, Illinois, he earned his bachelor's degree in information and decision sciences from University of Illinois-Chicago in 1985. He went on to earn his master's degree in finance from DePaul University in 1994, and he is a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist. Vern's interest in working in the benefits management field began while he was in college working for United Parcel Service. "UPS motivated their employees through benefits and that sparked my interest. It eventually defined who I was," he said. Vern's professional career began in 1986 working for the actuarial firm AS Hanson (now Mercer) in Deerfield, Illinois. From then until 2008, he held a variety of benefits and 401(k) management positions for companies in Illinois, Florida, and Michigan. In 2008, he joined the American Red Cross, based in Washington, D.C., first commuting for several years and then working from his home office in Michigan. He left the Red Cross earlier this year as a Senior Benefits Consultant and took a job for a sort time with Geico, also based out of Washington, D.C. Vern said he was drawn to Michigan Sugar Company by the leadership team and the opportunity to manage a top-tier benefits package. "I liked the vision for how we want to make all HR functions more cohesive," he said. "There is also a vision for flawless administration of benefits, which corresponds to my belief system. I hope to really embrace the administration of top-tier benefits." Vern and his wife Patty live in Haslett, Michigan, and have eight children - Peter, Elizabeth, Maggie, Eddie, Theresa, Paul, Richie, and Tommy. They also have seven grandchildren - John Paul, Zelie, Kolbe, Emma, Sophie, Adam, and Nellie. Vern and Patty also have a Rottweiler mix named Mad-Eye. In his free time, Vern enjoys walking and running, watching the television series "The Chosen," and spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren. #employeespotlight #PlantYourCareer #SWEETJOBS #MakingLifeSweeter #CreatingGrowthandOpportunity

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: Michigan Sugar Company welcomes Sangeeta Mukhopadhyay as its new Quality Assurance Manager. A native of Kolkata, India, Sangeeta graduated from Pratt Memorial School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in food engineering from West Bengal University of Technology, located in Haringhata, West Bengal, India. After graduating, she worked on food and beverage patents as an Intellectual Property Research Analyst before earning her master’s degree in food engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, located in Kharagpur, West Bengal, India. After earning her master’s degree, Sangeeta came to the United States to attend the University of Arkansas for her Ph.D. During her Ph.D. program, she worked as a Senior Research Graduate Assistant and Teaching Assistant. In 2017, she earned her Ph.D. in Food Science, with a focus on Food Engineering. She began her career in 2018 as a Quality Auditor and Process Improvement Engineer at American Sugar Refining, a cane sugar refining company that is a subsidiary of Florida Crystals located in West Palm Beach, Florida. In 2019, she was promoted to Quality Supervisor. In 2021, Sangeeta took a role as the Factory Associate Quality Assurance Manager for the Nestlé Purina PetCare Company in Davenport, Iowa. She later transitioned to the position of Factory Quality Assurance Manager for the company’s Batavia, Ohio, facility, a dry pet food factory that was the company’s biggest investment to date. Sangeeta also had short-term assignments at the company’s Flagstaff, Arizona; Denver, Colorado; and Eden, North Carolina, factories. Sangeeta joined the Michigan Sugar team in June. She is looking forward to learning more about sugarbeet production and processing, especially during her first harvest season. “I love being the ‘boots on the ground’ team member,” she said. “I am motivated to have a positive impact on our company’s food safety and quality culture. During my first few weeks here, I’ve been welcomed by my colleagues and truly love coming to work. I can’t wait to see how we continue to move this company forward.” In her free time, Sangeeta enjoys trying different cuisines, cooking, painting, listening to audiobooks, walking, and working out. She and her husband, Zach, who also works at Michigan Sugar Company as a Research Scientist, are looking forward to settling down in the Great Lakes Bay Region. Sangeeta and Zach enjoy traveling, often to visit Sangeeta’s family in India or Zach’s family in Arkansas. They also have a cat, Baagh Mama, which means Uncle Tiger in Sangeeta’s native language, Bengali, and several aquarium fish. Welcome to the team, Sangeeta! #employeespotlight #PlantYourCareer #SWEETJOBS #MakingLifeSweeter #CreatingGrowthandOpportunity

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: Michigan Sugar Company welcomed Haley Jenkins to the agronomy team in June as an Agriculturalist in the West District. A native of Birch Run, Haley knew from a young age that she wanted to pursue a career in agriculture, as well as stay in her home state of Michigan. A first-generation college student, Haley attended Michigan State University after graduating from Birch Run High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in horticulture in December 2022. During college, Haley worked as a Research Assistant at MSU, where she gained experience breeding small fruit – mainly strawberries, along with some blueberries and hops – for pathogen resistance. Her other responsibilities included field scouting, diagnostics, collecting field samples, designing yield trials, and soil fertility management. Haley is the second member of her family to work at Michigan Sugar Company; her uncle Thomas Kramer was an employee at the piling ground in Albee Township. “I’m excited for the opportunity to help improve grower-owners’ crops,” Haley said. “One thing that I’ve got a lot of experience in is field scouting, and I love attention to detail.” Haley lives in Lansing. Her hobbies include backpacking, camping, kayaking, and powerlifting. One of her favorite places to explore is the Huron-Manistee National Forest, located in the northern half of the Lower Peninsula between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Welcome to the Michigan Sugar family, Haley! #employeespotlight #PlantYourCareer #SWEETJOBS #MakingLifeSweeter #CreatingGrowthandOpportunity

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: Michigan Sugar Company welcomes Cam Vermeersch as the Packaging & Warehousing Supervisor at the Sebewaing factory. Cam is a native of Unionville, graduating from Unionville-Sebewaing Area High School in 2009. He then attended Delta College, where he earned his associate degree in marketing management. After college, he worked at Cooperative Elevator Co. as a grain handler at the Akron location for three years. From there, he joined SC Johnson in Bay City, where he spent eight years as a Tech Specialist. He joined the Michigan Sugar team in January 2024. “The people here are fantastic,” Cam said. “Everyone here cares for each other. I can honestly say that I enjoy coming in to work every day.” Cam and his wife Stephanie have been married for eight years and live in Unionville with their three children - Grayson, 7; Raelynn, 5; and Brody, 2. In the winter, Cam enjoys snowmobiling, and in the spring and summer, he stays busy coaching Grayson’s T-ball team. Welcome to the Michigan Sugar family, Cam! #employeespotlight #PlantYourCareer #SWEETJOBS #MakingLifeSweeter #CreatingGrowthandOpportunity

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: Meet Jeremy Porzondek, Michigan Sugar Company’s new Reliability Engineer at the Sebewaing factory. A native of Ubly, Jeremy graduated from Ubly High School in 2013 and went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Saginaw Valley State University in mechanical engineering in 2018. He began his career at Corteva Agriscience, working as a Utility Engineer at the company’s Harbor Beach site. After four years there, he took a position as a Reliability Engineer at American Chemical Solutions in Muskegon. Jeremy joined the Michigan Sugar family in April 2024. He’s happy to be back closer to home and near family. “I grew up in a farming community,” he said. “Being here at Michigan Sugar, I get to be part of that again. It’s truly a family atmosphere here. I have a passion for agriculture, and I’m so happy to be back in the industry.” Jeremy lives in Unionville with his two dogs, a 2-year-old Labrador named Willow and a 13-year-old beagle named Toby. In his free time, he enjoys hunting and fishing. Welcome to Michigan Sugar, Jeremy! #employeespotlight #PlantYourCareer #SWEETJOBS #MakingLifeSweeter #CreatingGrowthandOpportunity

VETERAN OF THE MONTH: Congratulations to Keith Rang, Michigan Sugar Company’s Veteran of the Month for June 2024. A Standish native, Keith graduated from Standish-Sterling Central High School in 1996. He enlisted in the U.S. Army after graduation and completed his basic training at Fort Jackson in South Carolina. He went on to complete Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) training in petroleum supply and motor transport operations. He spent four years in the 980th Reserve Unit in Bay City, where he worked as a diesel mechanic and fuel supply specialist. Keith joined the Michigan Sugar team in 2000 as a Welder at the Bay City Factory. From there, he completed the Millwright Apprenticeship Program, and held several other positions, including Lead Mechanic, Assistant Beet End Foreman, Dryer Foreman, and Beet End Foreman. Four years ago, he started his current position as Shift Supervisor at the Bay City Factory. “I love my job, and I love the people here,” said Keith. “Every single day is different, and the diversity is what really motivates me to come to work every day.” Keith and his wife Josette have been married since 2005. In his free time, Keith enjoys hunting, fishing, home renovations, and yard work, along with spending time with his nieces and nephews. Congratulations, Keith, on being named Veteran of the Month. We thank you for your continued service to our country and our cooperative. To nominate a Michigan Sugar Company employee for Veteran of the Month, send an email to Tyler Kring at tyler.kring@michigansugar.com. #thankyou #veteran #veteranofthemonth

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: Meet Rick Lomasney, Michigan Sugar Company’s new Director of Safety. A native of Marysville, located near Port Huron, Rick attended Marysville High School. In 1991, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he spent the next 21 years working as a hospital corpsman with a focus on sailor, workplace, and equipment health and safety. During his time in the military, Rick also earned his bachelor’s degree in health science from Trident University International. Rick retired from the Navy in 2012 and went on to earn his master’s degree in occupational safety from Eastern Kentucky University. Dedicated to improving workplace safety, Rick worked in a variety of industries with a goal of creating a safe workspace for all with what he refers to as a "common sense, practical approach to safety." After working for companies in the automotive, metal heat treating, and aerospace tooling manufacturing industries, Rick took a position at Boeing as a Corporate Safety Leader. He spent five years at Boeing before joining the team at Michigan Sugar. “When the opportunity presented itself at Michigan Sugar, I knew I wanted to be a part of this company,” Rick said. “With the company’s impressive history, and the smart, positive people here who share my passion for workplace safety, I’m looking forward to seeing how we can make our safety policies and procedures even stronger than they are today.” Rick and his wife AnneMarie have been married for 31 years and reside in Marysville with their two dogs and two cats. They have a 27-year-old son, Landon, who lives in Grand Rapids and works in the film editing industry. Rick and AnneMarie enjoy spending time with family, bike riding, working on home projects and in their yard, and traveling, especially to places with unique architecture. One of the family’s favorite travel memories is a whale watching trip they took while on vacation in Washington. Welcome to the Michigan Sugar family, Rick! #EmployeeSpotlight #MakingLifeSweeter #CreatingGrowthandOpportunity #SWEETJOBS #plantyourcareer

VETERAN OF THE MONTH: Congratulations to Tom Harper, Michigan Sugar Company’s Veteran of the Month for May 2024. A Cass City native and 1987 Caro High School graduate, Tom enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1988 after a year of HVAC training following high school. He completed basic training the same year at Fort Dix in New Jersey, now part of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Following basic training, Tom deployed to Saudi Arabia for six years as part of Operation Desert Storm, serving as an Ammo Driver for the 4th Battalion 38th Field Artillery Regiment and a Petroleum Specialist for the 417th Quartermaster Company. As a Petroleum Specialist, Tom’s unit was the first to build a pipeline across the desert to connect their blister bags and fuel tanks to a civilian fuel refinery. Their actions wrote the training manual on such a procedure and led to a Presidential Unit Citation. Tom joined Michigan Sugar Company in 2017 as a Lime Kiln Operator. Later, he worked as a Sweeper Leader, and now works as a Chemical Supply Technician at the Caro factory. He resides in Caro and has three children and five grandchildren. In his spare time, Tom enjoys hunting and making memories with his grandchildren. Congratulations, Tom, on being named Veteran of the Month. We thank you for your continued service to our country and our cooperative. To nominate a Michigan Sugar Company employee for Veteran of the Month, send an email to Tyler Kring at tyler.kring@michigansugar.com. #thankyou #veteran #veteranofthemonth