POET Biorefining – Emmetsburg was honored last week with the “Patriot Award,” by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.

The award is a recognition of employers “who support a strong National Guard and Reserve force,” according to the ESGR.

The plant was nominated by SSG A.J. Poeppe of Emmetsburg, who is on active duty in Afghanistan with Battery A 1st Battalion 194th Field Artillery 2nd Brigade 34th I.D. of the Iowa National Guard.

“July of 2005 I had just returned home from a one-year tour in Afghanistan and applied for a position at the plant,” Poeppe said in the nomination letter. “I started in September. In less than two years I was notified of a Kosovo deployment July 2007-August 2008. While I was gone that year my family never had to worry about snow removal because someone from the plant came by and scooped the drive. I also received care packages from my fellow employees.”

Poeppe went on to say that in subsequent deployments, the plant personnel made the transition back and forth “seamless.”

POET Biorefining – Emmetsburg General Manager Daron Wilson said he’s glad to be able to work with Poeppe at the plant.

“I am proud of AJ serving his country and honored that we can play a small role in support of our troops,” Wilson said.

About POET
POET, the largest ethanol producer in the world, is a leader in biorefining through its efficient, vertically integrated approach to production. The 23-year-old company has a production capacity of more than 1.7 billion gallons of ethanol and 9 billion pounds of high-protein animal feed annually from 27 production facilities nationwide. POET also operates a pilot-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, which uses corn cobs and light stover as feedstock, and will commercialize the process in Emmetsburg, Iowa. For more information, visit http://www.poet.com.

###