To all our friends and customers in the industry ...
June 1, 2018 marks the retirement date for Lanny Ptacek. He started with Nelson Irrigation Corporation July 1, 1997 and after 20 11/12 years we are sad to say goodbye. Lanny has had a tremendous career in the irrigation industry – and we’ve been lucky to have him on board during some very exciting times. Lanny’s main responsibilities for Nelson Irrigation Corporation have been international sales in regions including Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Lanny’s experiences early in life gave him tremendous insight into farming, irrigation, and international travel. Lanny grew up the oldest of 6 children on a farm in Southeastern North Dakota. His family grew corn, alfalfa, wheat, cattle, pigs and chickens. He graduated from North Dakota State University in 1970 with a BS in Agricultural Engineering. Lanny graduated from Utah State University in 1972 with a MS in Irrigation Engineering. He studied under Dr. Jack Keller and did research in El Salvador. One of his other professors was Dr. J. E. Christiansen – the namesake for (CU) Christiansen Coefficient of Uniformity.
Lanny worked with the Soil Conservation Service in North Dakota from 1973-1974, Hawaiian Agronomics in Iran in 1975, and Reed Irrigation from 1976-1985. Reed took him from California, to Jordan to Costa Rica. He joined Rain Bird in 1986 and worked there until 1994. During that time he met his wife Cindy and numerous friends and colleagues. From 1995-1997 he was the manager of United Pipe and Supply in Wenatchee, Washington. That brought him to Nelson Irrigation’s backyard – and in July of that year he joined our team. Lanny has been involved in the sales and marketing of all Nelson products.
Bob Rupar retired back on April 1st and he wanted to also extend his thanks to Lanny. “Lanny has been a major contributor to the success of Nelson Irrigation, especially in the international markets where he traveled extensively and tirelessly. Lanny not only represented our company extremely well, but also the irrigation industry and our country.”
It has been a pleasure to have Lanny on the Nelson team. His professionalism, technical knowledge of irrigation, sales & marketing expertise and his genuine care and interest in people are truly unique and will be greatly missed. Good luck to you Lanny and Cindy! Enjoy your adventures in the coming years
