BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Justin Trussoni - President & Producer Member Representative

Justin Trussoni, along with his wife Michele and their four daughters, are part of the sixth generation to farm in the Bad Axe River Valley. He grew up on an organic dairy and egg farm learning how to take care of the ground using natural methods. Justin now sells some of his fresh organic produce to Fifth Season Co-op and has been growing produce for nearly two decades. Some of the crops raised on the farm include: winter squash (most varieties), kale, collards, Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and hemp. Currently, Justin is working on eliminating the need for organically approved pesticides and plastic in all parts of his operation.

Brian Wickert - Vice President & Member Director-at-large

Brian Wickert is a biodynamic and organic vegetable farmer. He is a member of WI Farmers Union, and a board member at Michael Fields Agriculture Institute. Brian works to establish new distributors for the co-op. Brian is very excited to be working with the multi-stakeholder co-op model at Fifth Season Cooperative, as he sees it being the future model of doing business everywhere. He is dedicated to working with the practices of biodynamic agriculture and supplies biodynamic preparations to other farmers throughout the region. Brian is married to Patty Wickert, together they have two grown sons and two grandchildren.

Jeff Barnett - Secretary & Outside Director-at-large

Jeff Barnett is Regional Vice President of Chartwells Higher Education. In 2018 he made a decision to change fields and enter the Higher Education segment, knowing how closely it related to his career experience. Currently he serves Universities and Colleges throughout the Midwest. Jeff is a keen strategist and understands how to bring a vision to life. 2021 marks Jeff’s first year as a board member.

Tyler Dvorak - Worker Member Representative

Tyler lives in Forest township, near Viola, WI, with his wife and two daughters. He is currently in his second term serving on Fifth Season’s Board of Directors.

Mike Gasper - Buyer Member Representative

Michael Gasper has been the Nutrition Services Director for the School District of Holmen since 2008.  In that time he has developed a Farm to School program that has been recognized nationally.  He believes “purchasing locally is so important to our economy and more importantly for the health of our students.  Serving on the Fifth Season Board of Directors is a natural extension of that."  Michael is a life long resident of La Crosse, WI and is married with three children.  Click here to view the School District of Holmen's Nutrition Services website!

Ashley Wade - Member Director-at-large

Ashley Wade has worked for Performance Foodservice, previously Reinhart since 2010. She has a background in sales, contract management and finance. She lives in Viroqua with her son.

Pete Gengler - Member Director-at-large

Pete Gengler is the President of Sno Pac Foods in Caledonia, MN and is a fourth generation grower & processor of organic frozen vegetables. Pete is on his third term on the board with Fifth Season Cooperative. Being on the board with Fifth Season compliments Sno Pac’s commitment to it’s local farmers and processors.

Daniel Yoder - Member Director-at-large

A co-op member since 2014, Daniel grew up farming. Now with his own family farm located in Westby, Daniel is most known for his organic green bell peppers, green & red cabbage, green kale, butternut squash, and foraged watercress in the spring. He also keeps busy with his Sugar Shack. During syrup season, he taps 1400 sugar maples to produce organic maple syrup that Fifth Season sells throughout the year. Daniel is in his second term serving on the Board of Directors.