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Yuma's Dan Ross named Outstanding National Young Ag ProfessionalColorado Dan Ross, Chief Executive Officer of Center Pivot Irrigation LLC in Yuma, Colo., and a member of the Yuma Young Farmer Chapter was named the Outstanding National Young Ag Professional at the National Young Farmer Educational Institute held Dec. 5 to 8 in Tucson, Ariz. In seven years, he took his original Ross's Sprinkler Service from a one man operation in 1999 to a highly recognized company called Center Pivot Irrigation LLC which currently employs five people. Ross, 36, is the chief executive officer and majority shareholder of Center Pivot Irrigation LLC, which is a Reinke irrigation systems dealership. The company sells and services Reinke products and also provides parts and services for all other brands of pivot irrigation systems. Ross is in charge of the day to day operations of the company, including management of the service department and shop. He is a native of the Yuma area and a graduate of the Northeastern Junior College Ag Diesel program in 1992. Ross held a number of odd jobs after college, including working for a sprinkler service, which piqued his interest in doing this work full-time. In 1999 he took the risk involved by borrowing money to start his own company. Ross's Sprinkler Services originally only provided installation and repair on various types of sprinkler systems. In 2001 he was approached to become a dealer for Reinke manufacturing. After completing the necessary training, he revised his company to become Center Pivot Irrigation. He was still a one-man operation until 2002 at which time he employed his brother. In January 2006, Ross had an opportunity to take on a partner and at that time the limited liability corporation was formed. This new partner took over as chief financial officer. With some additional financial security now in place, the company was able to acquire a parts inventory and was expanded to include new full time parts and sales person and a satellite parts sales location at a feed store located in Kirk, Colo. From its original gross income of approximately $40,000 in 1999, the company now employs five and grosses in excess of a half million per year. As the majority shareholder, Ross has a very hands-on approach to his management. He personally supervises and trains all service technicians and handles his own public relations with local farmers. "I rely heavily on my partner for his expertise in financial planning and he relies heavily on my experience and expertise in the agriculture field," explains Ross. Together, the partners succeeded in receiving the Reinke Plus Training Award and their dealership was also recognized with a bronze Reinke Pride Award. Ross has been a member of the Yuma Young Farmer Chapter since 1993. He has held several offices and is currently chapter secretary. He served as the Southeastern Vice President for the state association. He has been involved in many Colorado Young Farmer activities at the local, state and national level. He volunteers his time for the Irrigation Research Foundation and local FFA and 4-H livestock shows. He is a member of the West Yuma Chamber of Commerce and the NFIB. He has been a professional guest speaker for Farmers Union Insurance Company during their training for agents to teach them how to evaluate irrigation system crashes when they are assessing damage in order to accurately reimburse farmers when claims are filed. Ross participates in many school and community activities He and his wife Brenda, who works at Murphy Brown of Yuma, play on a community softball league and his family is very involved in church activities. The couple has three children Joey age 4, Courtney age 6, and Brittany age 8.
Date: 2/7/08
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