Released: March 11, 2004

KARL Participants Study Unfamiliar Territory

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – Glennis Zimmerman, school administrator in the Winfield public schools knows what it is like to attend class at the U.S. War College at Fort Leavenworth. She also can say she spent a day in prison – as a visitor that is.

Zimmerman is a member of the Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership (KARL) Class VII and recently joined 29 associates in the Tools for Peace Seminar in Leavenworth and Lansing.

“Wednesday we were able to see the best and brightest of the branches of the military and attend classes with them. We are truly in good hands. Thursday, touring the prisons of Lansing and the Federal Marshall’s holding facility gave us the opportunity to experience the consequences of wrong goals and choices,” Zimmerman said.

“That’s what this program is all about – reaching into the unknown – into areas that seem to have little to do with us, but in fact, greatly affect us,” said Jack Lindquist, president of KARL, now in its 14th year. “We’re training people to be better, more well-informed leaders for the future of our state.”

Lindquist has led the program since the KARL office opened in 1990.

The 30 members of the current class are halfway through their two-year curriculum. Class members hail from all over the state and include bankers, crop consultants, farmers, corporate marketing representatives, county and state extension personnel and farm equipment company employees – all interested in learning how to be better leaders in their communities and for the agricultural industry.

The March three-day seminar included a trip to Fort Leavenworth, where the group heard information ranging from the significance of the Leavenworth War College to military research on al-Qaeda.. Class members also studied strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to society.

After a briefing and war college classroom exercise, the group heard a presentation about the current state of Iraq and the war on terrorism by Lt. Col. (ret.) Timothy Thomas, who works as a consultant with the U.S. Department of Defense.

A security background check on each KARL class member preceded the group’s visit to the Lansing Correctional Facility the following day. LCF was established in 1864 and currently houses over 2,500 male inmates. In addition to the tour, class members had lunch at the prison and participated in a panel discussion with two inmates, including an enlightening question-and-answer session. Correctional staff members also discussed their jobs and how they came to be in their positions.

From LCF, the group headed to the Corrections Corporation of America [CCA] – a privately-run Federal Marshall’s facility that houses inmates who are awaiting trial or awaiting sentencing on federal charges. As at the state prison, KARL class members toured the facility and had a panel discussion with four male inmates – all with vastly different stories to tell – from a businessman who was convicted on drug charges to an inmate being held for gun possession during a crime, all awaiting sentencing.

What does any of this have to do with leadership training?

“In my position as an assistant superintendent, I see how adults can inspire students to greatness or can drive them to mediocrity or worse. I am sure I can speak for the entire KARL class when I say that we will long remember this seminar as we become advocates for positive change in our community, state, nation and world in the years to come,” Zimmerman said. “When Dr. Steven Davies [former warden of Lansing and now school superintendent in Horton] gave the class a powerful presentation on Friday, sharp contrasts of what we experienced on Wednesday and Thursday were tied together.”

“One of the tour guides at Lansing likened the annual cost of keeping an inmate to the cost of a year at Harvard,” Lindquist said. “That might prompt some people to believe that prisoners should be locked up and denied access to what may be costly training or rehabilitation programs. But they also need to be aware that 97 percent of all prison inmates at some point will come back to our communities. That might make people think a little differently about how that time is spent while they’re in prison.”

“We’re always encouraging the members of the KARL classes to think outside the box. This seminar isn’t even near any box I’ve ever been in,” said Warren Weibert, KARL board chairman. Weibert joined the class for the seminar as a form of oversight by the all volunteer board of directors.

The KARL Web site, http://www.karlprogram.com provides details and photographs of each seminar in the curriculum.

The KARL Program is an intensive two-year study and training experience for emerging leaders of the agricultural industry and rural communities of Kansas. The parent organization, Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership, Inc., (KARL, Inc.), is a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to identifying and developing leadership in order to enhance the quality of life for all Kansans.

KARL funding comes entirely from private sources. KARL, Inc., is a 501c3 - charitable, educational organization. To inquire about application or contributions call (785)532-6300 or write to 216 Call Hall, Manhattan Ks. 66506.

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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.

Story by:
Jack Lindquist
karl@ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News