Most people know Bob Scott as an ethanol marketer and long time President of the American Coalition for Ethanol. Earlier this year he ceased to be the latter, and in November Bob Scott became a former ethanol marketer. After two decades of selling, defending, and promoting ethanol, he decided to call it a career.

I also know Bob Scott as a hunter, fisherman, golfer, Crown Royal & 7 drinker, North Dakota Sioux Hockey fan, Minnesota (gulp) Viking fan, Martin Luther impersonator, “chirper” in the church choir, singer in a rock and roll band, a guy whose knees knock when he gets higher than the third rung of a ladder, a gardener who knows the names of all of my wife’s flowers, a terrific neighbor, a comic straight-man without peer, and a dear friend. With the exception of the Viking thing, I hope Bob enjoys having more time to do those things over the next months and years, and I know I will continue to enjoy doing some of them with him.

More than those hobbies, Bob Scott enjoys being a husband, father, and grandfather. Over the years I have worked with him through his connection to ACE, making visits to petroleum marketer events and individual stations, talking about ethanol and blender pumps. Bob often talked about his kids’ baseball games and dance recitals, his older children’s weddings, careers, and his excitement over becoming a grandfather – with each new grandchild bringing the same giddiness as the first. And many times as we talked about those things, Bob was away from his family, selling ethanol or promoting ethanol as President of ACE.

Bob Scott saw ACE through some very turbulent times. During the most recent of those times, he must have felt like the referee in a boxing match between his two best friends. Put in that unpleasant no-win position, it had to be worse that, in the end, supporters on both sides of the fight were unhappy with him, believing that he favored their opposition. Typically that reaction is a good indication that the matters at hand were given a full and fair hearing. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for guiding us through those thankless times.

Bob Scott has earned his time off. So, Merry Christmas, enjoy the family, and don’t be a stranger.

Actually, I’m not too worried about that. Because I know that on his first day of retirement, after he dropped the kids off at school, he stayed to talk to one of the teachers about – you guessed it… ethanol.

See you around, buddy.