Rick Phillips joined the Pocatello, Idaho Rotary Club in 1990 when he began his career with the J.R. Simplot Company. Rick was persuaded to attend a regional Rotary conference hosted by then Rotary International President Richard King. He returned home convinced that Rotary International was “the most important non-religious, non-government, non-partisan” organization on the planet. Since then, he has served on his club’s Board of Directors for two separate terms, and was elected club president for 2006-2007. He has also served as a charter facilitator for the Rotary Leadership Institute in Zone 5400. He will serve as District Governor for District 5400 in 2014-2015.
 
Born and raised on a dairy farm in Dayton, Idaho, Rick attended Utah State University where he received degrees in Agriculture Economics and Journalism. His career includes working as an Ag Banker in Eastern Idaho, serving as Assistant to the Director with the Idaho Department of Agriculture, and since 1990, working for the J.R. Simplot Company as manager of public relations, both in the corporate office and in Pocatello.
 
Active in civic and community affairs, Rick has served on a number of local, state, and national organizational boards. He is past Chairman of the Idaho Chapter of the American Red Cross, serves on the boards of St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital Advisory board, the Idaho Digital Learning Academy, the Lewis/Clark Blood Services region of the American Red Cross, and currently chairs the Idaho Council on Economic Education.
 
Rick and his wife, Kerry, have six adult children and an increasing quiver of grandchildren.