GOSHEN – Jeremy Bender was named one of 28 of Indiana’s top farmers and agribusiness men and women selected to participate in the 21st class of  Indiana’s Agricultural Leadership Program (ALP). During the two-year program, ALP class members will attend 10 seminars held throughout Indiana, study for a week in Washington, D.C., meeting with national leaders and spend 10 to 14 days studying internationally.
Bender is the agribusiness lending manager vice president for Interra Credit Union, bringing over a decade of dedicated service to Interra. Bender's deep-rooted commitment to agricultural lending has been instrumental in supporting the farming community, fostering growth and cultivating lasting relationships, the provided release states.
He is a graduate of Purdue University and Indiana Wesleyan University. Bender is an active participant and member of several organizations, including Wawasee Community Bible Church Trustee Board and Kosciusko County 4-H.
ALP Class 21 participants will begin their study July 11. This session will provide a program orientation for class members including discussions of leadership, leadership qualities and applications, goal setting and understanding personality styles. Through study and exposure to critical public issues, participants are challenged to meet the evolving political, economic, social and cultural needs of our society.
Over the next two years, class members will study a wide range of leadership subjects and gain a broad understanding of the diversity of the agricultural industry in Indiana. The two years of study will provide the class members with enhanced skills and expertise to serve in leadership roles at local, state and national levels on behalf of the agricultural industry.
Since it began in 1984, over 550 participants have graduated from the Indiana Agricultural Leadership Program and are actively strengthening and transforming their local communities and the agricultural community as a whole.