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Deere Honored for Commitment to Its Home Communities

Points of Light

John Deere has been honored for being one of the most "community-minded," large companies in the country. It's included on the latest list of The Civic 50 top corporate citizens, as chosen by an organization named Points of Light.

Nate Clark is Global Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for Deere and President of the John Deere Foundation.

"To me the Civic 50 represents companies who don't just talk the talk but they walk the walk, in terms of the amount of giving back and how they integrate it within their culture and their business strategy."

He says a good example is last year the Deere Foundation gave nearly 2.7 million dollars to food banks in the company's home communities.

"Not only were food banks vital in serving our communities in the midst of COVID, but increasingly so as we're facing some of these economic challenges."

And last year, employees donated more than 124,000 hours of their time, volunteering at food banks, and as coaches, volunteer firefighters, and mentors.

Others on this year's Civic 50 list include Wells Fargo, Delta Airlines, General Mills, UPS, and Conagra Brands.

A native of Detroit, Herb Trix began his radio career as a country-western disc jockey in Roswell, New Mexico (“KRSY, your superkicker in the Pecos Valley”), in 1978. After a stint at an oldies station in Topeka, Kansas (imagine getting paid to play “Louie Louie” and “Great Balls of Fire”), he wormed his way into news, first in Topeka, and then in Freeport Illinois.