Tri-State Neighbor
Matt Cronin of C & B Operations LLC, in Gettysburg, S.D., has been elected chairman of the Minnesota-South Dakota Equipment Dealers Assn., and Chris Palen of Sioux International in Sioux Falls, S.D., has been elected as vice chairman.
Corey Marzolf of Marzolf Implement Co. in Spring Valley, Minn., has been elected to a 3-year term on the board of directors. These elections were held during the business session of the Association’s annual convention held at the Hilton Minneapolis Hotel in Minneapolis, Minn. on December 9.
Cronin, a native of Gettysburg, graduated from the Univ. of Notre Dame. Following graduation, he spent 12 years in finance and sales with Kraft Foods, eventually becoming the senior finance manager, sales with total responsibility over sales operations of the eastern U.S.
In 1999 Cronin joined C & B Operations as president following the death of his father, who had started the company in 1988 with a partner. The company at that time owned several John Deere dealerships. C & B Operations, headquartered in Gettysburg, now owns and operates 24 John Deere dealerships in South Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
Cronin is heavily involved in community organizations, foundations and clubs and serving on several boards. He and his wife, Janet, have three children.
Palen, a native of Sioux Falls, has been employed by Sioux International since 1979. The firm was founded in 1967 by Palen’s father, Cy, and partner, Ed Larson.
Palen worked in the parts department and sales before becoming more involved in the full management and operation of the business. Chris and his brother, Bruce, purchased half of the dealership from Larson in 1993. They purchased the remaining half from their father, Cy Palen, in 2000.
Case IH, Gehl, Cub Cadet, Arctic Cat and Sunflower are the product lines that Sioux International carries and they currently have 25 employees. Chris and his wife, Deb, have two children.
Marzolf is president of Marzolf Implement Co., a full-line AGCO farm equipment dealership in Spring Valley, Minn. The firm also carries H&S, Gehl, Summers and Geringhoff equipment. Marzolf Implement Co. was founded in 1954 by Corey’s parents, Harold and Carllie Marzolf.
Marzolf grew up in the family business and worked there part-time jobs through his youth. He began working at the business full-time in 1989 following his college graduation. He took over management of the business in 1995 following the death of his father. Marzolf Implement is still a single family-owned operation and this year will mark the dealership’s 60th year of business.
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