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The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) honored a select group of advocates for their contributions to the ethanol industry during its 39th annual conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last month.
The Merle Anderson Award, named after the organization’s founder, was presented to Mike Jerke this year. ACE CEO Brian Jennings presented the award to Jerke during the event’s awards ceremony.
The Merle Anderson Award is presented annually to recognize an individual who has made distinguished and lasting contributions to advancing the U.S. ethanol industry. Jerke retired in 2025 – after many years of active leadership in the industry. Jerke served as CEO of Quad County Corn Processors (QCCP), Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company (CVEC), Guardian Energy, Corn Plus, and Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE). He valued the importance of grassroots advocacy, having participated in several ACE DC fly-ins and other efforts to promote the legislative and regulatory priorities for ethanol.
“I was completely humbled to receive the award,” said Jerke. “Anybody that remembers and knows Merle understands why the award was named for him. Merle is an icon and is legendary for his drive, dedication, and just persistence in pushing this industry forward. He was actively promoting ethanol, encouraging others to get engaged in the industry I think right up until his passing, when he was 96 years old. I’m incredibly honored to receive an award named after him.”
ACE chief strategy officer Ron Lamberty presented the Grassroots Award to Kenton Johnson in recognition of his longstanding dedication to ACE, the ethanol industry, and rural America. As a farmer, founding member, and board member of several ethanol plants, Johnson has consistently supported ACE and the broader industry through his passion, leadership, and commitment to strengthening rural communities and the domestic ethanol industry. Johnson has been a steadfast advocate for the ethanol industry’s grassroots movement for many years. His active participation in ACE and other industry leaders’ conferences, fly-ins, and board meetings reflects his continued commitment to advancing the industry and ensuring the voices of rural America are heard.
“It’s a true honor to receive this award,” said Johnson, “I’ve had a fantastic experience here at ACE. I think I was 22 or 23 years old when I first stepped on the board and went on my first Hill visit and kind of dove into policy with Ron Lamberty and Brian Jennnings and some key board members that have kind of mentored me along the way, and it’s a real honor to win this award. We’ve done a lot of great work around here.”
During a retailer panel discussion, Lamberty presented the Paul Dana Marketing Vision Award to the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association for its sustained leadership in expanding ethanol demand and increasing consumer access to higher ethanol blends. Through its work on infrastructure grants and other program funding, Unleaded 88 fuel pump promotions, consumer education through studies that highlight E15 benefits and use, advocacy for pro-biofuel policies, and coordination of congressional visits with ethanol plants, the Association has played a pivotal role in market development. These efforts have helped fuel retailers successfully offer higher ethanol blends and contributed to Minnesota achieving five consecutive years of record E15 sales.
“It’s really an honor to be recognized with this award from the American Coalition for Ethanol, said Brian Werner, executive director of the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association. “They do so much work with grassroots, with ethanol plants, with ethanol plant board members, so it’s really an honor to be recognized for the work that we are also doing at the grassroots level – going out, working with fuel retailers, helping them install new infrastructure that can accommodate higher blends of ethanol like E15, but also doing that consumer education piece.”
ACE has also designated its 2026 Policy and Legislative Leadership Award to U.S. Representative Michelle Fischbach (MN) for her strong leadership on biofuel issues, including her recent leadership in the House Rules Committee and on the House floor, which was instrumental in securing passage of the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act (H.R. 1346) to ensure nationwide and permanent access to low-cost E15. The Congresswoman joined ACE to speak to attendees and accept her award during the Thursday morning general session.
“It was an honor to receive my award for my work on the E15 legislation,” said Congresswoman Fischbach. “But most of all, it’s incredibly important that we passed that E15, and we will continue to fight through the Senate, making sure that we get this done and signed into law.”
For photos, interviews and videos from the 2026 ACE conference, visit the virtual newsroom. To view a complete list of past ACE award recipients, visit our website.