In the words of one of Ken’s sons, Skagit Farmers Supply was Ken Kadlec’s masterpiece. Ken would tell you that it wasn’t him, it was the employees.
As an employee, if you ever attended an employee or manager retreat, thank Ken Kadlec. Received a profit sharing check? Thank Ken Kadlec. Attended a grower appreciation BBQ? Yep, that’s also Ken Kadlec. Even the name, Skagit Farmers Supply, happened in 1988 under Ken’s watch.
Ken started with Skagit Grange Supply in 1984, the third General Manager in the cooperative that began in 1934. When he started, there were 15 employees and sales of approximately two million dollars. Each of the different areas of the company grew significantly under Ken’s leadership. Skagit Farmers Supply became well known in the cooperative world as a successful cooperative. When he retired in 2010, there were over 200 employees and sales topped eighty-five million dollars annually.
But those are just numbers and facts. Ken didn’t manage, he led. He was a genuine person who cultivated a strong culture of humanity within the company. He was relationship driven and found joy in the work. Raised on a farm in North Dakota, he was not afraid of work and in the early years at the co-op, he could be found working side by side with the employees, remodeling a retail location, running any available equipment at the agronomy plant or delivering energy products. He and his wife, Joan, and their three kids, would be in the stores, helping reset products and assisting in yearend inventory counts. In later years, as the company grew and Ken had to be in the office more, he was still in his happy place when he would go to the locations and interact with the employees, farmers and customers.
Ken had a great sense of humor, enjoyed celebrating successes and created a wonderful sense of “team”. He enabled the employees to do their jobs and was well known for his frequent statement to managers and employees, “Do the right thing – you know what it is”.
Ken’s legacy will always loom large over Skagit Farmers Supply, agriculture and the larger cooperative world.
A memorial service will be held at a later date, and it is fitting that his ashes will be spread on the family farm in North Dakota because Ken remained a farm boy until the day he passed.
Click here to view additional photos of Ken’s time with Skagit Farmers Supply.
Click here to read more about Ken’s legacy and upcoming Celebration of Life.
