March 31, 2014
BY Holly Jessen
When I worked at The Jamestown Sun (a daily newspaper in Jamestown, N.D.) we received an email from someone that had a question about a building in Spiritwood, N.D., which is not far away from Jamestown, along Interstate 94. She drove past frequently, visiting her daughter at college, she said, and she wanted to know what the large industrial facility was that she could see from the road. She provided several entertaining possibilities on what it might be, including a CIA facility, and we answered back and satisfied her curiosity. (No CIA involved. That we know of.)
It’s been almost a decade since I lived in Jamestown, but if I’m not mistaken, she was talking about the Great River Energy Spiritwood station. At the time I remember thinking, wow, if you are so curious, why not just swing by and check it out? The detour couldn’t have taken more than 10 minutes. But people are busy. There are probably even more people out there that drove by on I94 and never even bothered to try finding out what it was.
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The experience is applicable to any industrial facility, including ethanol plants. I wonder how many people in your community, drive past your ethanol plant and wonder what the world is going on there? I wonder how many of them know it’s an ethanol plant but have completely wrong ideas about the industry?
I know there are many ethanol production companies that do get very involved in their communities by offering people the opportunity to tour the plant, donate to local causes and more. I know because we’ve written about it. Bravo to all of you that send employees to speak to students, get involved at career day, take on student interns and do so many more wonderful things in your communities.
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Personally, I know every chance I have had to tour an ethanol plant has been an extremely valuable experience for me. Most of the time, I’m sitting at my desk in Grand Forks, N.D., talking to people on the phone all around the U.S. and even the world. It’s doable, but being able to see, touch and experience something first-hand is always better, in my book.
If it’s been a while since your last plant tour, open to the public, it might be time to think about changing that. Call your local school, rotary club or local government and see if there’s an opportunity to invite guests or go speak on their turf. The personal touch goes a long way in educating even the strongest armchair critic.
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