The Farm Equipment team recently received a pair of SIPAwards for two of the magazine’s emerging digital media platforms. These awards were presented during the 43rd annual Conference of the Specialized Industry Publishers Association (SIPA) on June 4 in Washington, D.C. Farm Equipment received these peer-judged awards from among 236 entries in the industry-best recognition program, which included specialized publishers such as Financial Times, Business Management Daily, Access Intelligence and Putman Media.
The first award honored the recent podcast “How We Did It,” which features a different family-operated ag equipment manufacturer in each of its 24 episodes. This project was inspired by Farm Equipment Editor/Publisher Mike Lessiter’s career-long endeavors collecting stories and anecdotes on the origins of various agribusinesses, as well as his role as the second-generation president of a family business. The Farm Equipment team travelled across the United States to capture first-hand accounts from individuals who, through their inventions, changed the face of the ag industry.
The episode submitted for judging highlighted Kinze Manufacturing via the accounts of Jon Kinzenbaw — who founded the company as a 21-year-old with $5 to his name — and his daughter, second-generation president Susie Veatch. Since 1965, Kinze has grown into 30 acres of under-roof facilities and employs over 900 people worldwide, making it one of the largest remaining family-owned American ag equipment businesses. Through this project, Lessiter broadcasts their incredible evolution from a tiny shop to a globally-recognized presence to dealers and farmers alike. The podcast won an Honorable Mention for Best Podcast, its second SIPAward.
The second award was given to Farm Equipment’s 2018 Dealership of the Year Video Series, which features Reynolds Farm Equipment’s story, philosophies and operations over 15 parts. Dealership of the Year is presented by the Farm Equipment team annually, and a trip to the facilities to capture the people and processes that fuel them follows suit. Farm Equipment chose to highlight this particular series not only because it was created with improved recording equipment and processes, but because of its naturally charismatic subjects that took the project to a new level. These enhancements to the quality and personality of the series earned it a third place finish for Best Video Product. Gary Reynolds, the company’s second-generation owner, also brought his story to an episode of another Farm Equipment podcast, “Our Dealer Story.”
Farm Equipment would like to highlight its entire editorial staff for carrying its content to award-winning quality. Joe Kuenzle, Audio-Visual Manager at Lessiter Media, was honored for both projects, along with Mike Lessiter for “How We Did It.” Farm Equipment especially would like to thank Derrick Look, the videographer who worked on the “Dealership of the Year” series, for his efforts.
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