Thirty Kansans Complete Training To Be Leaders in Agriculture 4/30/01

KARL Class V Members

Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership Class V members who successfully completed the two-year training course this spring include the following (alphabetically by hometown):

Basalt, Colo. – Jon Traylor

Beloit – Fred Severance

Copeland – Jay Garetson

El Dorado – Tim Connell

Fort Collins, Colo. – Narrie Harris

Fort Scott – Andrew Howell

Garnett – Jill Zimmerman

Goodland – Richard Emig

Harper – Dollie Mathes

Hillsboro – Bob Watson

Humboldt – Amy Roeder

Kiowa – Brian Lindley, Brock Thurman

Lakin – Tom White

Lawrence – Lee Masenthin

Leoti – Mark Berning

Manhattan – Doug Haverkamp, Betty Johnson, Michael Leitch, John Schlageck

McPherson – Linda Helmer

Olathe – Al Davis

Pittsburg – Carolynn Burns

Randall – Bill Spiegel

Rosalia – Tim Kemp

Stafford – Jason Hildebrand

Towanda – Jeff Varner

Ulysses – Marieta Hauser

Wichita – Renee Laird, Dana Woodbury

For more information, contact KARL President Jack Lindquist at 785-532-6300.

Jack Lindquist, president of the Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership program, said the program participants are well-prepared to meet this challenge.

"Through the high times and the rough spots, class members have not had to stand on their own," Lindquist said. "They have found that KARL – and leadership – is more than just a program or seminar. It’s about people."

KARL students attend 10 in-state tours and a one-week study tour to Washington, D.C., where they meet with farm-state legislators. This group’s foreign study was a two-week seminar in New Zealand and Australia.

"Outside of their shorts and jumpers, Australian and New Zealand farmers are just like [American farmers]," Lindquist recalled. "Weather and prices are always high on the conversation list, along with a friendly suggestion on how to properly handle subsidies."

Class member Jason Hildebrand of Stafford said farmers in those countries are "more consumer-oriented than their American counterparts and willing to take whatever steps needed to produce for customer desires."

Hildebrand, who was elected by his classmates to KARL’s board of directors, added that Americans tend to think of themselves as "the world," but really are "are only a part of the bigger picture."

And, that’s part of the message class members will take with them, Lindquist said.

"They were counseled to take advantage of the opportunities that are before them," he said. "They need to make a commitment – be willing to take the risk and get to work."

KARL funding comes entirely from private sources. Participants pay a tuition fee of $2,500. KARL donors contribute nearly $9,000 per student.

As did the classes before them, the newest graduates also committed to helping raise money for future trainees. They hope to contribute $12,000 over the next two years.

To learn more about contributing to or applying for future KARL classes, interested persons may write to Lindquist at 216 Call Hall, Manhattan, KS, 66506 or call 785-532-6300.

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.