Thiessen Donation

Wayne Thiessen: “The endowment that we participated in was the opportunity that my wife and I had based on my employment at Ore-Ida Foods and the benefit program they offered us to accumulate some funds that could be designated to a 501c3 (nonprofit) event, and we thought the potato industry had been good to us and potato storage was so critical to our processing potatoes for 9 to 12 months of the year – potato research storage would be appropriate.”

“Worked for Ore-Idaho Foods for 22 years, I worked for the University of Idaho for 6 as an extension soil specialist and the fact that I had some success in the potato industry, they were good to me. It was a way that we could create, an opportunity to create a 1 million research professorship. We donated 500,000 dollars and that was seed money if the Idaho Potato Commission was interested in the same program, we had a deal. We had a million-dollar potato research position to be funded.

They matched that amount, that was contingent on my gift.

He’ll be based in Kimberly at the Potato Storage Facility with Nora Olsen,” said Thiessen.

The Idaho Potato Commission already invests over half a million dollars in potato research funding to the university each year.