ATCHISON, Kan., February 14, 2011--Ladd and Karen Seaberg have been selected by Benedictine College, Atchison, Kan., to receive that institution’s prestigious Cross of the Order of St. Benedict award. They, along with Dave and Sherri Laughlin of Overland Park, Kan., will be honored during the college’s annual Scholarship Ball on Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Westin Crown Center Hotel, Kansas City, Mo. The Cross of the Order of St. Benedict was established in 1969 as a way for the college to recognize friends and alumni who have supported charitable institutions, provided civic or religious leadership and demonstrated professional excellence.
Ladd’s and Karen’s leading roles in the progression of MGP Ingredients, Inc. (MGPI) is widely known. Ladd formerly served as chairman and as a member of MGPI’s Board of Directors. He also served for several years as president and chief executive officer of the company. Karen currently serves on the board, having begun her first term in August 2009. She, together with Ladd, continue an MGPI and family legacy associated with Benedictine’s most esteemed award. Karen’s parents, Cloud L. “Bud” and Sally Cray, were awarded the Cross of the Order of St. Benedict in 1980. Her grandfather, Cloud L. Cray, Sr., received the award in 1976. Bud is a board member and former board chairman and executive officer of MGPI. Cloud L. Cray, Sr., who founded MGPI, then Midwest Solvents Company, in 1941, was the company’s first chairman and president.
In an announcement issued by Benedictine, the college noted: “Ladd and Karen’s names are instantly recognized and highly regarded in Atchison and beyond. Both have contributed tremendously toward the betterment of the community and region. Through both business and non-profit leadership, the couple has helped bring recognition and prosperity to the Atchison area and to Benedictine College. Most recently, a significant combined gift from the couple and Karen’s father and mother, Bud and Sally Cray, enabled the remodeling of one of the donated Atchison Hospital buildings into Cray Seaberg Hall, now home to the college’s journalism and mass communications department, the psychology department, and the sociology department, as well as 42 sophomore men in a residential section.”
Speaking on behalf of the company, Tim Newkirk, president and CEO, extended congratulations to Ladd and Karen and expressed gratitude to the college for choosing them as honorees. “I truly cannot think of a more deserving couple for this award,” Tim said. “They are outstanding leaders in every sense of the term and have applied an unfathomable amount of energy and resources toward efforts to enrich the quality of life in Atchison and the greater Kansas City area.”
Newkirk added, “As revealed by their individual profiles, their involvement, hard work and generosity in supporting multiple facets of civic, professional and educational endeavors at the local, state and national levels are awe-inspiring. This includes their long and tremendous support of Benedictine, which they recognize as being a vital asset to Atchison and to the students who seek the high quality liberal arts education that the college provides.”
Ladd first met Karen at the National Science Fair in 1964. They were married Aug. 28, 1966 and both graduated from Texas Tech University in 1969, where Ladd earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering and Karen earned bachelor of arts degree in literature. They have two daughters, Mrs. Roy (Lori) Mingus of Lawrence, Kansas, and Mrs. Kyle (Melissa) Huntington of Atchison, and six grandchildren.
Ladd Seaberg Profile
Ladd, who retired as chairman of MGPI’s Board on August 27, 2009, began his first term on the board in 1979. Prior to being named chairman of the board in 2006, he served for 26 years as president of the company and was also CEO for 20 years. Upon his retirement from board service, he announced his plans to remain available in a consulting capacity to the board and company management for approximately two years.
A native of Beaumont, Tex., Ladd joined MGPI in 1969 and rose from distillery production manager to vice president and manager of the company’s starch division in 1970. He was made vice president and plant manager in 1972, and served as general manager for one year prior to being named president of the company in 1980.
Ladd was a founding member of the International Wheat Gluten Association and is a past president of the association. He also has served as president of the U.S. Wheat Gluten Industry Council and as a member of the USDA Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for grains, feeds and oilseeds, representing the U.S. grain community at World Trade Organization meetings. He is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Water Pollution Control Federation, and the Technical Committee of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S.
In addition, Ladd is a board member of Exchange National Bank and Trust Company, Atchison, and a former advisory director of Commerce Bank of Kansas City. He has served on the boards of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is a member of Kansas Inc., and served on numerous other state committees for former Governor Bill Graves. He also served as a board member of the former Atchison Leather Products Company. Ladd was one of the original founders of the Atchison Area Economic Development Council and was its chairman until the start of 2009. He is also a member and past chairman of the Atchison Santa Fe Depot Board of Trustees; a member of the Board of Directors of the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum, and the Board of Directors of the Atchison County Historical Society; a past member of the Young Presidents’ Organization; and past president and chairman of the board for the Kansas City Presidents’ Organization.
Ladd also is a former member and past chairman of the Atchison Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; past president of Atchison Kiwanis; former general chairman and special gifts chairman of the Atchison Chapter of the American Cancer Society; past state vice president of the Kansas Jaycees; and a lifetime member of the USJCI Senate.
Ladd was also a charter member of the original Amelia Earhart Bridge Committee that initiated action leading to the current construction of a new bridge over the Missouri River in Atchison. He additionally spearheaded the funding and purchase of land and a walking bridge at the Independence Creek Lewis and Clark Historical Site in Atchison. In association with this project, he played an integral part in the funding and building of the Kanza Tribe native American Earth Lodge at the site. In recognition of his exceptional leadership in business, industry and local community affairs, Ladd was honored by the Atchison Area Chamber of Commerce in January 2009 by becoming only the seventh inductee into the chamber’s distinguished Hall of Fame.
Karen Seaberg Profile
Karen’s professional business background includes over 20 years as an executive travel agent in association with the Travel Center of Atchison. Along with Ladd, she is co-owner of a local Long John Silver’s franchise. She also served five years on the managing executive committee of The RiverHouse Restaurant in Atchison, and currently is co-owner of The RiverHouse property.
Karen is well-known for her involvement in civic activities. She played a key role at the local, state and national levels in the development of the 2004 Lewis & Clark Bicentennial commemoration, including serving on the executive committee for “A Journey Fourth,” one of fifteen Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Signature events held nationally in 2004. Karen served as the Governor’s Chair of the Kansas Lewis & Clark Bicentennial and was a member of the Circle of State Advisors, national state coordinators for the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial, both from 2001 to 2004. She served as chairperson of the Executive Committee for Atchison Lewis & Clark events from 2002 to 2006. She was a member of the National Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation Board from 2003 to 2007 and served as its president from 2007 to 2008. She continues to serve on that board’s executive committee.
Karen also continues to perform a vital role in Atchison’s nationally-acclaimed Amelia Earhart Festival, which attracts an estimated 50,000 guests to the local community each year. She served as a member of the Governor’s Committee for the Amelia Earhart Birthday Centennial in 1997. She additionally was a principal organizer and events coordinator for the centennial festival in Atchison in 1997 and has served as festival chair since then. Karen was very active in Atchison’s major Riverfront/Downtown Development project, serving on the Design Committee from 1997 to 2000 and the Development Committee from 2000 to 2004. She helped spearhead this group that developed and acquired funding for the $5.2 million award-winning enhancement project adjacent to the Missouri River. She is a charter member of the Riverfront Development Foundation, which was organized in 2005.
From 1998 to 2004, Karen served on the Atchison Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She has continued as a member of the chamber’s tourism council since 1991 and served as chairperson of the council from 1998 to 2001. She additionally served on the Riverbend Regional Healthcare Board from 1990 to 2004 and on the Atchison Hospital Board of Directors from 1995 to 2001. She presently serves on the board of the Cray Medical Research Organization at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kan., a position she has held since 1995. She was a member of the Atchison Sertoma Club from 2002 to 2004, and is a former president, secretary and charter member of the Theatre Atchison Board of Directors.
About MGP Ingredients
In business since 1941, MGP Ingredients, Inc. is a recognized pioneer in the development and production of value–added, grain-based starches, proteins and food grade alcohol products for the branded packaged goods industry. The company has facilities in Atchison, Kan., and Onaga, Kan. that are equipped with the latest technologies to assure high quality products and to maintain efficient production and service capabilities.