March 2, 2017
Lincoln, Neb. — Twenty nine Nebraska LEAD 36 fellows recently returned home after participating in a 10-day National Study/Travel Seminar conducted by the Nebraska LEAD Program, Feb. 8-17, 2017. Terry Hejny, Director of the Nebraska LEAD Program served as group leader for the study/travel seminar to Kansas City, Washington, D.C. and Chicago.
During the seminar, Nebraska LEAD Fellows met with political, business and government leaders. Highlights included visits to the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, Environmental Protection Agency offices in Kansas City and Chicago, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Embassy of Argentina, the Pentagon, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. LEAD Fellows also received briefings from representatives of the National Corn Growers Association, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the American Bankers Association, the National Pork Producers Council, the National Wheat Growers Association, the Brookings Institution and the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars. Also included in this years’ experience were briefings and factory tours of the John Deere operations in Moline, IL.
A major objective of the study/travel seminar is to provide participants with the opportunity to meet leaders who help shape local, state, and national policy in agriculture and related areas and to create first-hand exposure to varied social and economic conditions/issues that exist in the United States. The mission of the Nebraska LEAD program is “to prepare and motivate men and women in agriculture for more effective leadership” and is designed to speed up the leadership process.
Nebraska LEAD 36 Fellows by hometown are:
Arthur: Ty Walker
Broken Bow: Nate Bell
Craig: Johnathan Hladik
Deshler: Ellen Schmidt
Fairfield: Thomas Kluver
Fremont: Andy Langemeier
Gibbon: Shane Bendfeldt, Kimberly Wilkens
Gothenburg: Shane Terrell
Gretna: Kelsey Vala
Hay Springs: Joseph Dorshorst
Holdrege: Chris McQuillan
Johnson Lake: David Rowe
Kearney: Dustin Knuth, Hannah Riddle, Ryan Stien
Kennard: Jennifer Arp
Lexington: Adam Smith
Lincoln: Ben Blomendahl, Nate Blum, Nora Turner
Loomis: Justin Trompke
Martell: Alex McKiernan
North Platte: Kyle Shepherd
Omaha: Dustin Smith
Stapleton: Robert Hecox
Sutherland: Shelly Kelly
Trumbull: Scott Bieck
Waverly: Lori Paulsen
The Nebraska LEAD Program includes men and women, currently active in production agriculture and agribusiness. The Nebraska LEAD Program is a two-year leadership development program under the direction of the Nebraska Agricultural Leadership Council and in cooperation with the University of Nebraska’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Program content, essential to leadership focuses on economics, government, human relations, communications, international trade, sociology, education, the arts, social-cultural understandings as well as agriculture.
For more information, or to request an application for Nebraska LEAD 37, contact the Nebraska LEAD Program, 104 Ag Com Bldg, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583-0940 or 402-472-6810. For more information about the selection process or to request an application, visit www.lead.unl.edu The application deadline is June 15, 2017.
Terry Hejny
Director
Nebraska LEAD Program
402-472-6810
thejny1@unl.edu