Spudman May/June 2023 - 18

" She's calm and thoughtful and just a
genuine person, and that's what made
her so successful in this position, because
you do work with people. She became a
resource for seed potato growers, because
with the amount of time she spent in this
field, she gathered a lot of knowledge
and information, and then she was also
so personable and thoughtful that people
enjoyed talking to her and meeting with
her and hearing what she had to say. "
- Jenny Durrin-Genry,
PVMI executive director
All artwork:
Jeanne Debons
" She's tenacious. When she set out to do
something, she got 'er done. I'm not saying
it was all roses and everything, but she just
took the bull by the horns and made it work. "
- Ellie Charvet, Washington potato grower
and PVMI board member
" She's honest, but honesty comes with
a lot of kindness and sincerity. There's
nothing that is fake about her. "
- Mary Powelson, former OSU professor
" It required that she had some stamina
and endurance. Under those conditions,
you can imagine, personalities can get
sharp when people are exhausted, "
Powelson said. " But she always was
cool. ... She has a lot of self-discipline.
When she's on a task, she can focus on it
without being diverted very easily. "
That discipline served Debons well
in the role where she made her most
memorable mark on the potato industry.
When she became executive director of
the Potato Variety Management Institute
18
Spudman * May/June 2023
in 2006, she realized her first duty was to
define the job.
Before the institute's creation, there
was no organized collection of royalties
and annual license fees from potato
seed growers in Oregon, Washington
and Idaho. Debons' people skills were
immediately put to the test when she
had to explain to folks that that would
be changing.
" In the beginning, the big growers
didn't have to pay royalties, so my first
job was to communicate to people how
important it was to make sure that we
got funds going back to the research
programs so that it would maintain
them, " Debons said. " The first couple
of years, I had to listen to a lot of
disappointed seed growers. ... Several
researchers told me this isn't going to
work: 'We've never done this. Why should
it work now?' It was kind of a personal
triumph to show them it would work. "
In 2022, PVMI collected more than
$1.3 million in royalties and fees,
which were remitted to universities

Spudman May/June 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spudman May/June 2023

Editor's Letter
Table of Contents
Heartland farms
Growing uncertainty
Connecting the dots
Potatoes USA: Where do chips and fries fit?
National Potato Council: Setting sights on Japan
Idaho Potato Commission: Positive impacts
Potato Sustainability Alliance: Water stewardship
Upcoming events
Advertiser Index
Spudman May/June 2023 - 1
Spudman May/June 2023 - 2
Spudman May/June 2023 - 3
Spudman May/June 2023 - Editor's Letter
Spudman May/June 2023 - 5
Spudman May/June 2023 - Table of Contents
Spudman May/June 2023 - 7
Spudman May/June 2023 - Heartland farms
Spudman May/June 2023 - 9
Spudman May/June 2023 - 10
Spudman May/June 2023 - 11
Spudman May/June 2023 - Growing uncertainty
Spudman May/June 2023 - 13
Spudman May/June 2023 - 14
Spudman May/June 2023 - 15
Spudman May/June 2023 - Connecting the dots
Spudman May/June 2023 - 17
Spudman May/June 2023 - 18
Spudman May/June 2023 - 19
Spudman May/June 2023 - 20
Spudman May/June 2023 - 21
Spudman May/June 2023 - Potatoes USA: Where do chips and fries fit?
Spudman May/June 2023 - National Potato Council: Setting sights on Japan
Spudman May/June 2023 - Idaho Potato Commission: Positive impacts
Spudman May/June 2023 - Potato Sustainability Alliance: Water stewardship
Spudman May/June 2023 - Advertiser Index
Spudman May/June 2023 - 27
Spudman May/June 2023 - 28
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