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David Schmidt, President Kraemer Textiles Education: graduate of the Hill School (Pottstown, Pa). 2 y ears completed
at St. Lawrence University, Canton, N.Y., no college degree (I went into the family business immediately).
Career 32
years in the Textile industry. 6 years as a shift supervisor, 6 as plant manager, 4 years as V.P. manufacturing, 4 years as
V.P. Sales and Marketing, and 12 years as President. I have extensive experience selling to and trouble shooting yarn problems
in carpet, upholstery,knitwear, and other areas of the Textile Industry.
Personal: Youth Soccer coach for 20 years,Former
Scoutmaster, B.S.A., former chairman, Park and Rec Commission Borough of Emmaus. Married, 2 children, 2 grand children (girls
9 and 7). Sam Buff, Textile Testing Specialist
-Gaston College Fiber Testing Services Sam Buff
is a Textile Testing Specialist at the Textile Technology Center at Gaston College. Sam joined the Textile Center in
August of 2003. Sam spent several years in plant operations of the optical fiber business with Alcatel Telecommunications.
He also spent five years as the Quality Control Manager at Spectrum Dyed Yarns. He holds an MBA from Pfeiffer
University, a BS in Textile Chemistry from North Carolina State University and an AS in Engineering from Catawba Valley Community
College. He resides in Lincolnton, North Carolina on a small farm where he raises beef catte and breeds Redbone Coonhounds.
Also, he writes a monthly column for the United Kennel Club.
John Anderson,
Director, Gaston College Textile Center John Anderson is the Director of the East Campus and Textile
Technology Center at Gaston College. John joined the Center in November of 2006, after a brief flirtation with retirement.
John spent 38 years marketing synthetic fiber with Celanese, Hoechst-Celanese, and Wellman, Inc. He retired from the
position of Vice-President, New Products in March of 2006.
He holds an MBA in Marketing from New York University
(The Stern School), a BA in Economics from Gettysburg College and is a graduate of the Program for Management Development
at Harvard Business School. He also taught Fashion Merchandising at Fashion Institute of Technology as an adjunct faculty
member. He resides in Waxhaw, NC and also writes a weekly column for the Charlotte Observer
www.gaston.edu/aboutus/campuseast.html
Ron Cole,Cole Consultants
After retiring from his 37-year career at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
(USDA) Livestock and Grain Market News, Ron Cole started as a wool consultant for the American Sheep Industry Association
(ASI) in September.
A native of Colorado, Cole attended Colorado State University to study animal science. After
graduating, he joined the USDA as a meat grader. After four years of extensive travel in this branch, Cole chose to join the
market news branch working in Missouri, Iowa, Washington and Colorado. He has worked in all phases of livestock, grain and
meat reporting, both at the local and national levels. Due to this experience, Cole has extensive knowledge of all agricultural
sects. Over the past 10 years, Cole has worked closely with the sheep and wool industries.
In his new position,
Cole will be assisting with the expansion of ASI’s wool quality programs, such as AWEX-ID (Australian Wool Exchange
Identification) and wool-market transparency. He will conduct market analysis of the industry and assist with producer outreach.
“During the past 15 years, I have met hundreds of people in the sheep industry and
hope that I can provide useful information related to production and marketing so that we can expand the industry rather than
continue the lower-production trends of the past few years,” explains Cole. “I am excited about continuing to
work in the sheep and wool industry, and look forward to working with members in all phases of our industry in the future.”
Cqtherine Keske, Colorado
State University
Catherine Keske is an
assistant professor of agricultural and resource economics in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State University.
She is also the Associate Director of CSU’s Institute for Livestock and the Environment. She earned a M.S. degree
in Mineral Economics from the Colorado School of Mines and a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Colorado State
University. She has eight years of industry experience, in addition to her work in academia.
Catherine has enjoyed working with alpaca and livestock producers in various aspects of risk management
and marketing over the past several years. Catherine’s research focus includes risk management, bio-energy, rural
development, recreation economics, and land policy (including conservation easements). At CSU, she teaches sustainable
waste and water management, energy policy and economics, and economic measurement. She is also an adjunct professor
at the Denver University Sturm College of Law, where she teaches graduate environmental and resource economics.
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