James Bassett brings 38 years of Cargill global executive management experience to the Kansas 4-H Foundation Board of Trustees. As chairman of the Grants and Awards and Long-Range Planning committees, he influenced the Foundation Board to provide substantial funding for increasing volunteer recruitment, engagement, training and recognition. James believes all youth deserve a 4-H experience, and the key is recruiting and training a cadre of volunteers who are the best at what they do in America. James mentored an Extension/Foundation taskforce that documented needs of volunteers. He encouraged a group to work with 15 counties to write business plans focusing on increasing volunteers, membership and retention, and he influenced the Board to allocate funds for the project.
James established an alliance with the Kansas Leadership Center, and the Board funded scholarships for 4-H volunteer leadership training. James motivates others to conduct excellent research, formulate a business plan with challenging goals, perform at the highest level of achievement, measure results, and apply what was learned to the next phase of the project. James is prominent on the Foundation’s lifetime giving list and is a member of the Heritage Council with intent for 4-H in estate plans. He resides in Kansas with his wife Donna after serving as: President of Cargill Geographical activities in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. He previously served as Manager of International Meat Marketing and President of Worldwide Poultry Operations.
