District 3 Director Ron Armstrong often thinks about legacy, how today’s decisions will affect tomorrow, and what we can do to leave things better than we found them.
It’s not just lip service. At his farm, Man Fort Farm LLC, he’s planted several rows of maple trees as a way to promote conservation, maple syrup production, and natural beauty that can be enjoyed for generations. And as an MEC board member, he helps his fellow directors make decisions that will ensure customers can benefit from a strong cooperative for years to come.
Ron was born on a farm in Hastings, Michigan—the same farm where his mother resides to this day. After moving to Lawton in 1986, he became a customer of MEC, which at the time was called Fruit Belt Electric Cooperative.
In 1997, Fruit Belt merged with Southeastern Michigan Rural Electric Cooperative in Adrian, Michigan, to form Midwest Energy Cooperative (later renamed Midwest Energy & Communications). MEC launched propane service the following year, mailing postcards to let customers know about the new service.
“Since Midwest was new to this business, I saw some opportunities to enhance the customer experience, so I leveraged my voice as a member to meet with the board of directors,” Ron says. “Little did I know that I would also learn that there was a vacancy in my district.”
After interviewing several candidates, the board invited Ron to become the new District 3 director.
Ron’s career has been characterized by the same goal-oriented thinking that led him to plant maple trees: the desire for today’s work to blossom into tomorrow’s successes.
Starting as a bagger at a Kroger grocery store in high school, Ron worked his way through every department on a mission to become the store manager. That experience opened the door for the opportunity to join Honee Bear Canning, which then allowed him to form relationships with growers and retailers in the United States, Peru, Mexico, New Zealand, and even Australia.
Although he retired in 2014, he remains active in the frozen fruit and vegetable industry, using the many building blocks from his career journey to bring new products to market and help growers maximize their success. Ron draws on this business experience and depth of knowledge in his work as an MEC director.
“As MEC grew, so did our ability to offer more items to our customers in a competitive and serviceoriented environment. Our daily goal is to deliver on our customers’ expectations,” Ron says. “I continue to serve on the board to contribute back to MEC the experience, wisdom, and knowledge that I’ve gained being part of this team.”
Since he joined in 1986, new opportunities like propane and fiber internet service have allowed MEC to grow into the cooperative it is today. As Ron serves alongside his fellow board members, he looks for further opportunities to strengthen the cooperative, ensuring through their efforts that MEC can continue to provide excellent, reliable service for future generations to enjoy. After all, maple trees don’t grow in a day.