Dave Spears

The Distinguished Service Award is KARA’s most prestigious honor.

It is presented each year to recognize someone who has made a significant and lasting contribution to our industry and to our association.

Our 2025 recipient has made a remarkable impact on Kansas agriculture through work in public policy, financial services, cooperative leadership, and volunteer service.

A native of Wichita, our honoree graduated from Kansas State University in 1979 and joined the Wichita Bank for Cooperatives in the lending division. Over the next 10 years, he supervised the delivery of financial services and products to CoBank’s customers across the region.

Following his leadership in the financial services industry, he accepted a position with Senator Robert Dole, where he served in several senior-level roles. He specialized in agriculture, credit, and trade issues, and was the senator’s primary advisor on agriculture policy — including work on the 1990 Farm Bill.

In 1992, he began a five-year tenure as Senator Dole’s state director, managing offices in Kansas City, Topeka, Wichita, and a mobile office in western Kansas. He traveled extensively throughout the state, representing Senator Dole at events and public forums of all kinds.

In 1996, our honoree was nominated by President Bill Clinton to serve on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where he later became Acting Chairman in 1999. During his time with the Commission, he also chaired both the Financial Products Advisory Committee and the Agricultural Advisory Committee.

Upon his recent retirement from the Mid-Kansas Cooperative Association, he founded a consulting firm focused on agricultural policy and business strategy.

While at MKC, he was part of the executive management team, helping guide the strategic vision, direction, and growth of a $1.2 billion agribusiness providing grain, agronomy, energy, feed, and risk management services.

He also devoted nearly 10 years of service to the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association Board of Directors. We are deeply grateful for his lifelong dedication to our industry and to Kansas agriculture.

Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association awarded its members a variety of awards from 1963 until 1988 when the Agri-Business Service Award, Education Service Award and Communications Service Award were combined into the Distinguished Service Award.

Agri-Business Service Award

Education Service Award

Communications Service Award

Distinguished Service Award