Robert A. “Bobby” Hanks is CEO of Supreme Rice, a rice milling business in Louisiana and Arkansas. He currently serves as the chairman of both the USA Rice Federation and the Louisiana Agricultural Commodities Commission.

Edward W. Patrick, Jr. is a self-employed farmer of cotton, rice, corn and soybeans, which has been his principal occupation for the past 5 years. Mr. Patrick is co-owner and operator of Joe’s Bayou Gin. Mr. Patrick serves as president and director of Joe’s Bayou Farm Supply, PP&E Corporation and Pop Pat, Inc. PP&E Corporation and Pop Pat, Inc. are both farming entities. He is also vice-president and director of Joe’s Bayou Gin. Mr. Patrick is a director on the East Carroll Farm Bureau Board.

Cullen M. Kovac is a co-owner/operator in Kovac Cattle, Inc., which is a cow/calf and stocker operation, which has been his principal occupation for the past 5 years. Mr. Kovac is Vice-President of the Fiske Union Water System. He also serves as chairman of the West Carroll Soil and Water Conservation District Board and is president of the West Carroll Parish Farm Bureau Board. Mr. Kovac also serves as board director on the West Carroll Parish School Board.

Kristin Guillory oversees the financial operations of Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC, Guillory assumed her current leadership role in July 2021. She began her career with Cleo in August 2004, where she has served in various finance roles with increasing responsibilities. Guillory holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with dual majors in accounting and finance from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She is also a certified public accountant and chartered financially analyst.

Henry A. Capdeboscq, Jr. is a self-employed dairy and beef cattle operator, which has been his principal occupation for the past 5 years. Mr. Capdeboscq is also owner of Capdeboscq Farm Trucking, LLC and Capdeboscq Farm Hauling, LLC. Mr. Capdeboscq serves on the Tangipahoa Parish Cattlemen’s Association board, an organization serving the beef industry and is a board member on the Louisiana Brand Commission. Mr. Capdeboscq is also a member of the Tangipahoa Parish Farm Bureau, Tangipahoa Parish Forestry Association, Tangipahoa Parish Dairy Advisory Committee, and Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association.

John F. Earles co-owns and operates Triple E Farms, which has been his principal occupation for the past 5 years. Mr. Earles is president of Townsend Brothers Farms and serves as secretary/treasurer for Triple E Land Grading. He is president of Earles, Inc., a land and rice dryer organization, Gold Dust Hunting Club Inc., and Black Lake Hunting Club, Inc. Mr. Earles serves as secretary/treasurer of Triple E Land Grading, a precision land leveling and development organization, Townsend Brother Farms, Inc., Cenla Fuels, LLC, and Bunkie Flying Service, Inc. He currently serves as a police juror for Avoyelles Parish.

“Ben” Guthrie, age 40, is a resident of Newellton, Louisiana in Franklin Parish. For the past 16 years, Mr. Guthrie has been the General Manager/Secretary-Treasurer for Panola Company, LTD and the Managing Partner for Balmoral Farming Partnership and Island Farming Partnership, farming and land-holding partnerships that produce corn, cotton, soybeans and cattle on 15,000 acres in the Louisiana delta. He currently serves on the boards of Louisiana Land Bank, ACA (agricultural finance) where he is a member of the Audit Committee, Panola Company, LTD (land holding company), the Louisiana Boll Weevil Eradication Commission (boll weevil management) and the Louisiana Agricultural Corporation Self Insured Fund (workers’ compensation insurance coverage). He is a member of the National Cotton Council, past president of the Louisiana Cotton and Grain Association, past Chairman of the Cotton Foundation, and the Cotton Committee Chairman for the Louisiana Farm Bureau. He is a member of the St. Joseph Rotary Club and serves as board member/treasurer of Tensas Academy. Mr. Guthrie is a graduate of Tensas Academy and has a Political Science/history degree from Louisiana State University. He has also completed the LSU Ag Leadership Program.

Gertrude Hawkins is employed by the LSU AgCenter Sugar Research Station where she is a research associate. This has been her principal occupation for the past 5 years. She farms cotton, corn, soybeans, sugarcane and wheat with her brother. She manages the Edgar LaCour Land Company, LLC which is a family-owned business consisting of timber and row crops. Mrs. Hawkins also manages LaCour & Blake, LLC and Blue Lake Farms, LLC, and is a partner in G&L Farm Partnership and GNG Farm Partnership. She is a board member of the Pointe Coupee Parish Farm Bureau, Edgar LaCour Land Company, LLC, LaCour & Blake, LLC, and Blue Lake Farms, LLC. Mrs. Hawkins is also the president of Schwab Farms, Inc. and secretary for Bouanchaud Farms, Inc., Gilmer Farms, Inc., and G&M Farms, Inc. Mrs. Hawkins serves as a member of American Sugar Cane League, Louisiana Sugar Growers, American Society of Sugar Cane Technologists, and Tri Parish Gin.

Robert James "Bobby" Soileau received an M.S. and Ph.D. degree in agricultural education and leadership from Louisiana State University. Since 2005, Mr. Soileau has been the associate director and now is director of agricultural leadership for LSU AgCenter. Mr. Soileau oversees the leadership programs for people in agriculture and agribusiness and the LSU agriculture facility. Mr. Soileau is a member of the International Association of Programs for Agricultural Leadership and Agricultural Leaders of Louisiana.

John L. Van Mol, Jr., age 59, is a life-long resident of Alexandria, Louisiana, in Rapides Parish. He is the owner and managing partner of Leverton Farms, LLC, a 3,000-acre operation producing 950 acres of sugar cane, 400 acres of corn and 1,650 acres of soybeans in central Louisiana. He has farmed for 36 years, and farming has been his principal occupation for the last five years. He also serves as the chairman of the board of managers of Lagniappe Cotton Gin in Hamburg, Louisiana, and he is serving his second elected term on the USDA Farm Services Agency County Committee and Advisory Board for Rapides Parish. He has previously served on the board of the National Cotton Council, the Louisiana Farm Bureau and Rapides Parish Farm Bureau. Mr. Van Mol graduated from St. Stanislaus High School and Louisiana Tech with a degree in Agribusiness.