Mike Kring, Senior Packaging Engineer with Land O'Lakes, was honored April 30, 2008, at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., where he received a Presidential Volunteer Service Award. President George W. Bush created the awards "to recognize outstanding volunteer service and inspire others to volunteer." USAID Acting Deputy Administrator James Kunder and VEGA Board Chairman Spencer King presented service awards to 22 volunteers. Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA), of which Land O’Lakes is a member, is a consortium of leading economic development organizations that utilize volunteer experts in their international programs.

The Bronze Award given to Kring recognizes 100 to 249 hours of volunteer service in the international arena. Mike has traveled twice to Zambia, Africa, as a Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer on behalf of the International Development Division and has collected donations to benefit a Zambian orphanage.

For more on VEGA, check out their Web site at www.vegaalliance.org.

To register in a database for future consideration as a volunteer or consultant with Land O'Lakes International Development, click on the “Get Involved" tab above.