In early June, on the second day of the annual Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo, a thousand people gathered in the main auditorium and applauded Kelly Davis as she received the 2023 Award of Excellence from BBI and Ethanol Producer magazine.
The honor is generally seen as a lifetime achievement award, which suggests you’re retiring or stepping back. The acceptance speech is a brief opportunity to review highlights of your career and thank those who helped you along the way.
Which Kelly did with grace and gratitude. After 40 years in the business of “making moonshine,” as she likes to say, from a coal-fired ethanol plant to the RFA, it’s impossible to give a shout-out to everybody.
Naturally, we were pleased when, at the end, she named Tom Corle and thanked him for making her a challenge she couldn’t refuse: to join New Energy Blue and help turn corn stover into cellulosic ethanol, and cellulosic ethanol into bioplastics.
We’re immensely proud of her, especially now that she’s Vice President Davis, one of our very own. Yet we cannot claim a whit of credit for Kelly’s excellence. That’s her achievement over 40 years. All we can claim is that Tom was smart enough to recognize the talent, skill, and experience she brings to the table.
Pay attention, bio-world. Kelly Davis is not stepping back but going boldly into the future. Tune in here for her next excellent adventures.
