Our board represents a cross-section of our community and has a passion for our organization and those we serve. The members work to ensure long-term sustainability of the organization and oversee that public funds are properly spent to provide services necessary for better natural resource management in Madison County.
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Chairman Steve Davis
Supervisor Steve Davis lives in Paint Township. He is a lifetime farmer. He is active and semi-retired. He raises registered Angus cattle and had a purebred hog business for 30 years. He has cut back on his herd but still maintains about 15 cows. Davis considers improving soil health as the biggest natural resource opportunity. He has seen reduced soil tilth from when he was a teenager as a result of conventional farming practices today. No till and cover crops could be a very big factor in saving our soil structure and health.
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Vice Chair Jonathan Francis
Supervisor Jonathan Francis lives in Fairfield Township. He is a Salesman & Integrated Solutions Specialist at Ag-Pro. He grew up on a farm and continues to farm today. Jonathan feels the most important natural resource issue in Madison County is water and handling drainage and runoff in an economically and environmentally sound way.
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Treasurer/Secretary Bob Hunter
Treasurer/Secretary Bob Hunter lives in Paint Township. He is a retired farmer and self-employed CPA. He is seeking his fourth term on the board. He currently serves as Secretary/Treasurer. Bob has lived in Madison County his entire life except for one year he lived in Columbus. He belongs to several professional organizations, including Ohio Society of CPAs, Madison County Farm Bureau, Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, Ohio Corn Growers’ Association and the Ohio Soybean Association. Bob believes managing our water supply and water quality are our most important concerns in Madison County.
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Nancy Denes-Sparks
Nancy Denes-Sparks has been a Special Education Paraprofessional and Job Coach with Dublin City schools for the past 22 years. Recently, she took the position of Attendance Counselor. She grew up in Jefferson Township on her family tree farm, Denes Tree Farm. She served on the Village Council in West Jefferson from 1994-1998. She volunteers with St. Simon and Jude Catholic Church, the West Jefferson Ox Roast and various organizations in the community. She also is a third generation 4-H family, with her oldest granddaughter taking a Market Goat and Dairy Feeder Calf Projects.
Nancy believes that Madison County has always been a strong agricultural county and with current growth, there is a great need to make sure our natural resources are protected. Many areas of the country struggle to maintain and collect quality water, so we need to be good stewards of our water and land for future generations.
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JD Bethel
JD Bethel has been an agronomist at Integrated Ag Services for 6 years. Prior to that, he was at The Ohio State University researching soybeans for 4 years. He received his master’s degree in Weed Sciences at Ohio State. He helps his parents farm in Mechanicsburg. He and his wife, Wendy, enjoy bicycling, traveling and gardening.
The most important resource concern Bethel sees on a day-to-day basis working with farmers is soil erosion. He is interested in serving on the board because he supports the work of the Soil and Water Conservation District. He has done a lot of tiling and waterways on his parents’ farm and has seen the value. Anything we can do to promote keeping erosion under control is a good thing.
