J.D. Heiskell & Company announced the seating of Thomas Caron on its Board of Directors. Caron’s term of service began on Jan. 1, 2011. Caron joins three other non-family members on the board of the privately-held company: former President of ADM Investor Services Paul Krug, Chief Operating Officer of J.G. Boswell Co. Sherm Railsback, and proprietor of Lampe Dodge of Visalia David Lampe.

“The relationship between our company and Tom Caron goes back many years, and is buttressed by significant mutual trust and shared values,” said Chairman of the Board Scot Hillman. “We are looking forward to leveraging that history into a stronger and better J.D. Heiskell and Company through Tom’s wisdom and guidance at the Board level. I have a deep respect for his objectivity and analytical abilities and know he will contribute both to our benefit.”

Born in Montana, Tom Caron grew up on his family’s farm near Scranton, North Dakota. He attended Dickinson State College and the University of North Dakota, graduating from UND with a BSBA in 1968. He served in the U.S. Army from 1969-1971 and earned an MBA at University of North Dakota in 1972. Caron was employed by Bunge Corporation from 1973-1977, and then began a career with the Union Pacific Railroad that spanned four decades. At the UPRR, Caron’s primary involvement was in areas of strategic planning, marketing and pricing development, and personnel development. He was instrumental in developing the first unit-train programs in the late 1970s and shuttle-train programs in the mid-1990s, while vastly expanding his employer’s infrastructure in origination, domestic and export grain markets. He and his wife Gail have two married sons and three grandchildren. Caron currently has a transportation and logistics consulting business, Desert Consultants, Inc. PD

—From J.D. Heiskell & Co. news release