Awards

William (Bill) Mullins received his Bachelors degree in 1963 from the University of Illinois in Agricultural Economics. He furthered his education at Northern Illinois University with an MBA and at the Illinois Banking School in Carbondale. Bill returned to his family farm after college to help on his family farm in Shabbona. He combined farming with a position of Farm Manager/Cashier at Waterman State Bank for several years in the mid 60’s.

With his knowledge of farming and grain markets Bill expanded Mullins Farms and opened Mullins Grain Company, Car-Mul Fertilizer Company, Mullins Development and W.R. Mullins & Co. During the 70’s, Bill donated his time to the National Corn Growers association by serving as their President from 1980-1982 and the President of the National Corn Development Foundation in 1983. Bill then moved to Chicago to develop the Farm Marketing Department at Geldermann Inc. a commodity brokerage firm. Bill later joined Merrill Lynch and developed their Agricultural Hedging Services as well as serving as Resident Manager for the global agricultural commodity trade office. Bill also worked with Prudential Securities which he retired from in 2005.

As stated by Rebecca Doyle in her recommendation letter “Bill’s list of accomplishments speaks for itself, but the aspects of his character most deserving of this recognition are not on any resume or list of facts: rock solid integrity; a mind that is open to everything from basic, homespun rural experiences to sophisticated, nuanced global experiences and information; loyalty to family, friends and institutions; dedication that tempers his competitive drive but drives his unending quest to improve the world he inhabits; and the charm and sense of humor that allows him to disarm enemies and delight friends.”