In the late 1980s, Ken Root (Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network, Dyersville, IA) left farm broadcasting to be the Executive Director of the National AgriChemical Retailers Association (NARA) as an offshoot of American Cyanamid Company. “My board of directors was made up of 35 fertilizer and agricultural chemical dealers from across the country. One director was from Georgia. He had aspirations to run for president, but was a cautious person. He asked me to call his boss who owned Houston Fertilizer and Grain in Bonaire, GA. I did so and spoke to Dr. Sonny Purdue, DVM (current presidential nominee for Secretary of Agriculture) and owner of the business,” Ken said. “Sonny was very supportive of his employee becoming an officer of NARA and wished us well. Through the years, I heard that Sonny had decided to run for the Georgia legislature and later that he had switched to being a Republican and was going to run for governor. He did so and held the job for two terms.” Ken continued, “When I first met Jane Ertl, now my wife, she informed me that her family had bought a business in Georgia. She was part of a group of new Georgia business owners who were invited to the Masters Golf Tournament and dinner with the governor. I told her to drop my name and that of the organization I had managed. She did not believe I had any connection with Governor Purdue but he remembered me and talked to her at length about it.” Ken concluded, “Small world!”
