The meeting was called to order by President Shawn Mullen. Sherry Gupta offered the inspirational invocation and then led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance and the 4-Way Test. Dan Haynes introduced the many guests and the visiting Rotarians.
Ed Arnold from the Rotary Club of Northwest Des Moines and Kyle Davey of the Iowa Wolves basketball team reminded the Club that Saturday, February 2nd, 2019 is Rotary Night at the Iowa Wolves game. Half of the discounted $20 tickets go to the Rotary International effort to eradicate polio from the Earth. With the Gates Foundation double match, if each member bought two tickets, it would raise $16,000 to fight polio.
President Shawn introduced new member Matt Hill. Please see the separate story about Matt.
Kevin Kacere introduced today’s keynote speaker: Chris Nelson, President and CEO of Kemin Industries in Des Moines. Kemin was founded by Chris’ father in 1961 and has 2,800 employees worldwide. They have manufacturing plants in nine countries and have business operations 90 countries. The company holds more than 300 patents.
Chris told us about the wide variety of molecules that Kemin produces that are used in animal food, pet food, human food, human nutritional supplements, pest control and textile products. 50% of their revenues come from the animal food additives. Animal products include LysiGEM: encapsulated lysine that improves feed efficiency; “palatants” that improve the flavor of pet food, and BactoCEASE to prevent listeria bacteria from growing. One product for human use is Neumentix, which double blind studies have shown to improve working memory (short term memory) and is sold to many companies for use in their nutritional supplements. In the textile market, Kemin produces cellulase which is used as a whitener for blue jeans to give them a “worn” look. 42% of Kemins molecules come from plants.
Finally, Chris talked about Kemin’s newest venture: MedPharm Iowa, a subsidiary that produces and sells products derived from the marijuana plant. They grow, harvest and process the plants at their headquarters in Des Moines. Kemin was the first company to be licensed by the state of Iowa to grow, process and sell marijuana derived products; and the first to open retail stores in the state. They use two varieties of marijuana plants: one for its high level of THC – the psycho active molecule, and the other for its high level of CBD – the non-psycho-active molecule. After they extract the molecules, they combine them as needed to make oils, creams, and tinctures. Iowa law requires that a physician certify that the patient has one of only nine medical conditions in order to legally buy the products. Conditions include terminal illness, seizures, untreatable pain, and others, usually involving the need for pain relief.
Kemin is a company that Des Moines and Iowa can be proud of. Thanks to Chris Nelson for his presentation.