Richard Stinson is the recipient of the 2025 Industry Leadership Award for consistently serving the industry and providing outstanding leadership to National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) and the crop insurance industry. The award was presented during the 2025 Crop Insurance Industry Annual Convention in Bonita Springs, Fl.
For more than 20 years, Richard’s leadership in the crop insurance industry has been evident. He has established himself as a resource both for ProAg and NCIS, drawing on his unique experience as an agent, farmer, policyholder, and as part of industry associations and an AIP. His background has helped him establish an incredibly strong foundation of trust with his teammates and other professional connections.
Richard serves on the NCIS Communications and Outreach Committee, where he was the committee chair for eight years. He was always well-prepared for the meetings and clearly wanted to do his part to continue driving the crop insurance industry forward. He represented the issues well, consistently creating inclusive discussions around how the industry can better serve farmers, ranchers, and agents.
Richard has left a lasting legacy through his work with both NCIS and ProAg. At NCIS, he pushed the organization forward on the digital front—building new communication avenues to keep the industry connected. As he championed digital strategies like social media and an updated website, he built a road map and showed people why it mattered.
He has done the same at ProAg, encouraging the team to embrace disruption and the positive change that can come from it. His passion for innovation drives the team forward, expanding outreach to agents and policyholders alike. Richard has developed his marketing experience and skills largely through his passion for taking on new challenges rather than formal training. Instead, he immersed himself in the industry and became an expert who could easily lead others.
Richard is always willing to give back with a true caregiver’s mentality. At ProAg, he has offered himself as a support for others facing health issues—becoming a sounding board and a resource for navigating such a big life change. In his community, Richard has long been a volunteer at the Hermosa Senior Center, where he has done everything from managing the organization as part of the board of directors to cooking meals for the community. He was recognized for his work with the first-ever ProAg Cares Service Award, which included a $5,000 donation for the cause of his choice. Of course, Richard gave it back to the Hermosa Senior Center.
His legacy of giving back will live on for years to come with the recently established Richard Stinson Foundation. This organization supports community projects—including senior meals and food security, ELCA or like-minded religious projects, music, theatre or the arts, and lymphoma, cancer, and Alzheimer’s research organizations—in Custer, Roberts, and Grant counties in South Dakota.
PHOTO: Richard Stinson was presented with the 2025 Crop Insurance Industry Leadership award by Scott Arnold (left) Chair of the National Crop Insurance Services Board of Directors, and Tom Zacharias (right), President of National Crop Insurance Services.