We Need More Leaders Like Dick Meister
April 8, 2020 
Richard T. (Dick) Meister 1919 – 2020
When I first met Dick Meister, he was already retired. Well, sort of. Although he was in his 90s, he came into the office fairly frequently. And I always loved it when he did.
He was passionate not just about the company that bore his father’s name, but about agriculture. He cared deeply about how we served you growers. It was never an ego game for him.
I remember the first time he stopped me when I walked past him in the hall. He had sharp, smiling eyes and held out his hand to introduce himself. Although he hadn’t been in town when I first started working, he knew who I was.
After pleasantries, he brought up an article I had written a couple months before and started asking about the particulars. It wasn’t a splashy article, but one that focused on pragmatic tips on how to handle pricing plant material. I realized then that he read every article in every magazine our company published.
As the years passed, he continued to stop me, look at me keenly, then analyze yet another article I either wrote or assigned. Sometimes he offered advice, but more he wanted to dive into a meaty conversation about a topic that mattered to the industry.
He was the kind of man that makes you want to be more, to strive for … well, not perfection. But perhaps relevance. He wanted us to give you what you needed to succeed. He wanted us to matter to you.
A former colleague, Laura Drotleff, first started working here at Meister Media when Dick was in charge. She says he would tell his editors to love what they were doing and be emotionally involved with the industry they served. He wanted us to know the audience personally, because we can’t do our jobs by logic alone.
I’ve heard stories around the office about how Dick encouraged editors to not shy away from controversy, so long as it was done to stand up for the industry.
We need more Dick Meisters in agriculture. Intelligent, passionate, effective.
By caring so deeply about what happened in the industry, Dick Meister will have a lasting legacy. He created a standard all of us want to strive for.
If you have any fond memories or like to share a story about Mr. Meister, please leave a reader comment below.
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