Gayle Jacklin has become the first woman to be named president of Western Seed Association (WSA).

Jacklin, the key accounts manager at Jacklin Seed of the J. R. Simplot Company, is an excellent choice to serve as the association president, according to Bill Whitacre, president of the Simplot AgriBusiness Group and a former president of the association.

“We’re very proud of all Gayle’s accomplishments,” he said. “This is a very prestigious appointment, and I know she’ll make a wonderful association president.”

Jacklin has been actively involved in several seed associations. In addition to serving on the WSA board the last three years, she also is a past chair for the lawn seed division of the American Seed Trade Association and has served as membership chair for the Field Seed Institute. In 2002, she was named seedsman of the year by the Atlantic Seedsman’s Association, which subsequently changed its name to the Atlantic Seed Association.

Jacklin Seed, with headquarters in Post Falls, Idaho, is one of the world’s biggest grass seed organizations, serving customers in more than 50 countries. The Jacklin research facility is the largest privately funded operation of its kind in the nation.