October 19, 2005
Awards given to team members of Purdue Extension
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Indiana Extension Educator Association honored several Purdue University educators on Tuesday (Oct. 18) during Purdue Extension's annual conference banquet.
Awards and those honored include:
• The Program Area Team Award for Agriculture and Natural Resources went to Walt Sell, Stan Sims, Michael Reetz, Eric Biddinger, Phil Sutton, Kelly Easterday, Jeff Burbrink and Bob Yoder. This team of educators put on the Pinney-Purdue Field Day each year for northwest Indiana producers. This field day consists of presentations by Extension specialists, local agribusiness exhibits, a sponsored pork chop meal and an Ag Outlook presentation.
• Consumer and Family Science Team Award winners were Jean Akers, Lori Bouslog and Denise Schroeder. The course "Focus on Financial Management" was targeted to women to build confidence in their ability to manage personal finances and a plan for retirement. The focus of the course was on organization, determining net worth, setting goals, understanding risk management, and calculating insurance and savings needs. The series is done through distance education in order to reach a larger number of people.
• Team award winners for economic and community development went to Michael Reetz and Joyce Stumpe. The team utilized a program about starting a new business and presented it over three evenings. Program goals focused on developing a business plan, assessing the feasibility of a new venture, getting started and small business resources. A panel discussion with small business owners also was part of the program. Three of the participants went on to start a new business.
• The Area Team Award recipients for 4-H Youth Development were John Emerson, Neasa Kalme, Doug Keenan, Roger Sherer, Jamie Sukala, Barb Thuma and Angie Riffle. The team developed a strategy to gauge the impact of 4-H camp on participants. The educators conducted Youth Experiences New World Through 4-H Camp. A survey was completed by all of the camp's attendees Campers were third- through fifth-grade students, and they attended camp for three days and two nights. Seventy-one percent of the participants said they expanded their horizons and understanding of many subjects. Another survey questioned camp counselors, and 91 percent of the participants said they had better leadership skills, while 82 percent said they were more responsible and 73 percent said that being a camp counselor had improved their self-confident.
• The CES Team Award was given to Nancy Radabaugh and Teresa Witkoske for the program Passport Adventures. The program was designed to acquaint young children with different cultures. Kindergarten through sixth-grade students learned about different countries and cultures with the help of nearly 20 different international students and ethic restaurant owners. The Community Foundation of Wabash County provided a $4,000 grant to the program. Throughout the lesson, participants learned about different cultural aspects such as crafts, language differences, international customs and international foods
• The International Award winner was Jim Luzar. Luzar traveled to Nicaragua on an international Extension program experience. The trip was coordinated by Kellie Selby, Purdue international program coordinator, and sponsored by Winrock International. The focus of the trip was a seminar, put on by Luzar, about tools for niche market research for fresh and processed fruits and vegetables. Cooperatives and non-profit organizations, as well as local growers, were invited to the seminar. Issues addressed were the changing conditions in the marketplace, new patterns for determining preferences, research on potential customers, strategic selling points and determining prices.
• The Cass County staff received this year's H.A. Wadsworth County Staff Award. Lynn Korniak, Penny Troutman and Craig Williams teamed with Cass County Farm Bureau Inc. to organize a safety program for youth. Safety Camp was held for all the county's fourth-grade classes. The camp has taken place for four years and focuses on electrical safety, ATV safety, home alone safety, first aid and emergency response, bicycle and other sport wheel safety, fire safety, lawn mower and chain saw safety, and understanding animal behavior.
Writer: Chelsea Carter, (765) 494-8402, carterc@purdue.edu
Sources: Beth Forbes, (765) 494-2722, forbes@purdue.edu
Dave Petritz, (765) 494-8489, dpetritz@purdue.edu
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
Agriculture News Page
Note to Journalists: Photos of award winners will be available online. The photos will be available after 8 a.m. Friday (Oct. 21).
To the News Service home page