Janice (Ganske) Schyvinck, 1990
University of Wisconsin-Madison
I am currently the director of public relations for Equity Cooperative Livestock Sales Association. In my role, I am responsible for public relations, external and internal communications, publications, articles and scholarships, along with other marketing duties. I communicate with members and local associations, as well as work with media to publicize and promote events. I coordinate trade show displays, manage the advertising budget, and implement and update the cooperative's website. I previously served the architecture/engineering industry in corporate communications, worked for a dairy cooperative in public relations and worked for a subsidiary of the Prudential Insurance Company in marketing. I am married to Bart Schyvinck, an agronomist. Our family consists of three children: Austin, Morgan and Connor. All three are active members of the Jolly Beavers 4-H Club, one being a former treasurer, and another currently serving as vice-president. We also own and operate a registered Black Angus beef herd, CMA Angus. Our kids typically show at our county fair, and our daughter showed a beef heifer at last year's Wisconsin State Fair.
I have a passion and enthusiasm for the agriculture industry. I currently serve on the board of directors for the Wisconsin FFA Foundation, and as a past board member for the Sauk County Institute of Leadership and the Wisconsin Chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS). I am a member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), and the Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA), where I was a member of the 2010 Institute committee and also serve on the education committee.
The internship at Hoard's Dairyman has impacted my career in many ways. The contacts and networks I developed helped form me into the person I am today. The communication, writing and interviewing skills proved to be beneficial and essential for many aspects of the various positions I've held. My leadership skills and problem solving skills were enhanced because of the diverse experiences I obtained through Ewing Row, Steve Larson and Mike Opperman (editors) and Gary Vorpahl (Marketing).
I've learned to be resourceful and utilize the various contacts I've made to brainstorm, bounce around ideas and gather additional information that can prove to be useful in the future. I've also learned that getting everyone involved is critical for success. Every business has objectives. It is important that everything I do is tied back to a business objective. Proving the value of communications is always hard to measure, and with social media today it really mixes things up.
I thank Hoard's so much for the wonderful opportunity many years ago! It was an honor to be selected as an intern and tell agriculture's story while raising awareness of dairy issues for a national dairy farm magazine.
