3 receive Purdue Extension special recognition for service
October 15, 2015
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Two Purdue Extension leaders and one Indiana organization received special recognition Thursday (Oct. 15) for the outstanding service they provide through their profession to Purdue University and the people of Indiana.
The awards were presented during Extension's annual Professional Development Conference luncheon. The awards and recipients include:
* Paul B. Crooks Award: Jon Neufelder, county Extension director and Extension educator in agriculture and natural resources. Neufelder has served Purdue Extension for more than 15 years. He was recognized for his dedication to Posey County and his ability to champion collaboration and teamwork within Extension.
Neufelder is responsible for Gibson County Plot, a southwest Indiana wheat, corn and soybean trial that serves as a decision-making tool for producers; he implemented a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/Women, Infants and Children Program voucher system that has introduced local people to fresh produce; and he played an integral role in the launch of the Purdue Extension/University of Kentucky Precision Ag Conference. He also is an expert in agricultural economic topics, teaching and consulting on the Farm Bill.
* Outstanding Extension/Faculty Specialist Award: Aaron Patton, associate professor of horticulture. Patton joined Purdue in 2010. He was recognized for his crucial part in growing the Horticulture, Landscape and Architecture Extension Committee.
He is known as a turf management expert in Indiana and throughout the Midwest. As part of the Purdue Turf Team, he concentrates on reducing environmental inputs without compromising turf quality. He also serves as the executive director of the Midwest Regional Turf Foundation and is an editor and board member for the Crop Science Society of America. He also has written four Journal of Extension articles.
* Purdue Extension Director’s Award: Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. OCRA was recognized for its partnership with Purdue Extension.
OCRA has funded a $100,000 socioeconomic and fiscal study of rural Indiana undertaken by Extension and the Purdue Center for Regional Development, or PCRD.
OCRA invested $75,000 in two coming Extension and PCRD studies to address Indiana’s rural housing needs. ORCA also partnered with Purdue Extension and started the Hometown Collaboration Initiative, which gives communities with a population greater than 25,000 the opportunities to grow and improve.
Jason Henderson, Purdue Extension director, said Purdue Extension’s partnership with ORCA is crucial as Extension continues to move forward.
“Thanks to its partnership with OCRA, Purdue Extension is bringing communities together for long-term conversations about the future, gathering data and insights that provide a clear path to progress, and helping residents navigate the innate challenges of living and working in rural communities,” he said.
Writer: Chelsea Clodfelder, 765-494-2722, cclodfel@purdue.edu
Source: Jason Henderson, associate dean of Purdue Agriculture and director of Purdue Extension, 765-494-8489, jhenderson@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: Photos of award recipients will be posted at http://www.ag.purdue.edu/extension/awards/ when they become available.
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Keith Robinson, robins89@purdue.edu
Agriculture News Page
