Since 1991 The Center for Rural Leadership Spring 2012

820 E. Cottonwood Lane Bldg C Casa Grande, AZ 85122 520‐316‐0909 www.centrl.org

. Come to Williams, Arizona in July.

What a perfect time for a CRC!

We have the group area at Dog Town Lake Campground rented for the nights of the 13th and 14th of July. There is plenty of room for everyone - 20 vehicles and 80 people. For the CRC on Saturday

July 14th, the program will begin with a speaker at 10:00 am and then Lunch at 12:00. A wonderful BBQ lunch will be provided by Dallas Hillhouse and his wife. Then the program will continue with a speaker at 1:30. Watch the CENTRL website for more details to follow. There are rooms available in the city of Williams for non-camping folk.

Click here for a link to Dog Town Lake. Please RSVP to the CENTRL

Office at 520-316-0909 or karen@centrl.org

by July 1, 2012

Mark your calendar for September 29th and attend the next CRC in Winslow, Arizona.

It will be scheduled around the “Standin’ on the Corner” celebration in Winslow. We will post more details regarding the hosted meal, speakers and

activities on the CENTRL website as we get closer to the date. If you are interested in helping, please

contact Brad Andes at bandes82@gmail.com

See below for more info for “Standin on the corner”…….

Upcoming CRC’s July 13 - 14, 2012 Friday & Saturday Williams, AZ Contact: Dallas Hillhouse September 29, 2012 Saturday Winslow, AZ Contact: Brad Andes January 25, 2013 Friday evening Yuma, AZ Contact: Diane Junion Terisha Driggs April, 2013 Casa Grande, AZ Contact: Ed Foster

The Alumni Council has added

new members. Be sure to check

them out on Page 10.

ALUMNI COUNCIL COMMENTS

FRANCES LECHNER, PAST CHAIR flechner@uda.coop

I am so pleased about many things with the “passing of the baton” to this year’s Centrl Alumni Council. First, there is a great leadership team who worked together on the ILAC conference, who planned CRC’s, and helped to refine the Handbook. Second, we have added new vibrancy to the Council with the addition of six new CAC members: Brad Andes from Flagstaff, Trent Swanson – soon to be our “out-of-state” representative in Colorado, Scott Loughead from Chandler, Walter Burcham from Prescott Valley, Bill Brandau from Safford and Ed Foster from Casa Grande. They are sharp, articulate

realists, and have the benefit of adding a definite “other county” perspective to the Council. Get ready for some wonderful new locations for CRC’s! I am proud of the work we accomplished, and looking forward to devoting more time now to the mission of Project CENTRL: serving my community. I’ve been approached by several organizations in Yarnell to help out with several new projects, and since I have a hard time saying “No” , I’m looking forward to grounding more of my activities there at home! It has been an honor, and a challenging pleasure to serve as Chair, and I hope to see many alumni at upcoming CRC’s!

Greetings fellow CENTRL Alumni! I am very proud to be the new Chair of your CENTRL Alumni Council. I would like to start by expressing a special thank you to Frances Lechner, Past-Chair. Frances did an amazing job in her role as Chair, taking on TWO very successful CENTRL events in addition to the normal CAC commitments. I almost feel guilty that my year as CAC Chair may not be as challenging. I did say almost right? ;-) Frances is a treasured friend and she has truly set me up for success as the new Chair. With her help, as well as the help of Tiffany Ground, CAC Secretary; we have secured a fifteen member Council with six new members. The current CAC members are listed below and their contact information can be found on page 10.

LISA ANN JAMES, CHAIR ljames@azda.gov

The CAC honored two of its members as they completed their service. Pennee Murphree (V) and Lucia Konrath (XVIII), two very committed members of the Council for several years were presented with an engraved vase and flowers. Lucia is now serving on the CENTRL Board of Directors and Pennee plans to concentrate more on retirement. We wish them all the best!

Council Members Brad Andes (VI) Flagstaff Bill Brandau (VI) Safford Walter Burcham (XVI) Prescott Valley Terisha Driggs (XX) Cave Creek Ed Foster (XIV) Casa Grande Dallas Hillhouse (XIX) Bouse Frank Pratt (XVIII) Casa Grande Trent Swanson (XVIII) Colorado

Class XXI Representatives Becky Nutt (XXI) Clifton Ryan Tregaskes (XXI) Chandler

As you can see we have great representation of both urban and rural Arizona as well as some earlier CENTRL classes. As Frances mentioned, Trent will be taking on the task of keeping our out-of-state alumni connected. If you happen to cross paths with any of these folks, I would encourage you to thank them for serving on the CAC. I am super excited to work with these amazing people. Please check out the list of Central Regional Connections (CRCs) we have planned around our beautiful State and mark your calendars. I hope to see you there!

Chair—Lisa Ann James (XIX) Glendale Vice Chair—Scott Loughead (XIX) Chandler Secretary—Tiffany Ground (XIX) Phoenix Reporter—Diane Junion (XX) Safford Past Chair—Frances Lechner (XVIII) Yarnell

CENTRL Alumni celebrated St. Patrick’s Day “Buckeye Style” on March 17, 2012. After a warm welcome by Buckeye Mayor Jackie Meck, CRC attendees heard presentations about Buckeye’s varied industries and industry education programs by Estrella Mountain Community College’s Tom Cotner, Chris Ward from Mesquite Power, a division of Sempra Energy, and Wes Kerr (XX) of Bill Kerr Dairy. La Placita Mexican Restaurant delivered a delicious lunch before the group ventured to Buckeye Grain for a tour. Several attendees took advantage of the opportunity to top off the afternoon by attending the Buckeye Helzapoppin’ Rodeo. Special thanks to Deanna Kupcik (X) for donating the Chamber of Commerce meeting room, Fred Amator’s (II) AZ Jeep Tours for co-sponsoring the lunch, and Paul Rovey (VI) for giving us a behind the scenes look at Buckeye Grain.

On the left, the group at Buckeye Grain. Below the group is inside one of the silos at Buckeye Grain.

Group picture right after lunch before leaving for the tour at Buckeye Grain.

Wes Kerr speaking to the group about Bill Kerr Dairy.

Chris Ward from Mesquite Power speaks

to the group.

By From Cheryl Goar, CENTRL Board President

Date: May 19, 2012 Beginners Welcome Location: Casa Grande Trap & Skeet Club Time: 8:00 am Breakfast and practice Registration: $55 per person Includes Range Fees, Ammunition and donation to AZ FFA Foundation

There will be fun and prizes! Contact Stephen Goucher (623) 979-3842 for more info.

If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies. ~Author Unknown Perhaps since it is Spring and all the trees and flowers are in bloom, besides sneezing, it seems we are all admiring the Arizona landscape. It is really a great time to live in all parts of Arizona. It also seems that as leaders, in this Spring season, all of the groups I am active with are contemplating change. I love the quote above because it positions change in a positive light. In my day job as the Executive Director of the Arizona Nursery Association, our board is reading a book about associations entitled “Race for Relevance”. This book challenges that if associations are not observing and taking into account five major changes with their members, they will cease to exist. Many of the tenants of the book apply to Project CENTRL as well. With the “change” thought in mind, the Project CENTRL Board of Directors held a strategic planning session a few weeks ago to address how the CENTRL program might need to change to stay relevant and up-to-date. During the first session of what I hope to be at least three more, the Board spent their time looking at the financial future of CENTRL and what changes are imperative to assure there is full funding for our program and future classes. As the Board of Directors begins to look at changing CENTRL, rest assured we are all strong believers in the program, have its current and future success at the forefront of our minds and are committed to keeping it the premier rural leadership program in and for Arizona. To accomplish all of this and change into what we will look like in the future, we might be calling on you as alumni. It might be to assist us in program development or to make a financial contribution. We hope that you will be standing ready to assist in any way you are able. Without alumni support, CENTRL would just be a class of 20 individuals at this time. Because of the alumni support, we are a CENTRL organization over 550 strong! Please adopt the mindset of change, like the butterfly, and we’ll keep you posted as soon as we have developed our strategy.

CENTRL DIRECTOR UPDATE EVERETT RHODES

Page 5

Class XXI Seminars

SECOND YEAR

Seminar 7 Building Communities & Economic Development September 20-22, 2012

Seminar 8

Managing Natural Resources October 18-20, 2012

Seminar 9

Focusing on Social Issues November 15- 17, 2012

Seminar 10

Border, Labor, & Food Supply Dynamics

January 24-26, 2013

Seminar 11 Arizona Legislature in Action

February 20-22, 2013

Seminar 12 Polishing Leadership Skills

March 21- 23, 2013

National Seminar April 27- May 4, 2013

Make A Difference… Invest in Project CENTRL!

The first step of responsive leadership is to first choose to make a difference, and then proceed in accomplishing actions to make your decision happen. In this spirit, I join with our Board of Directors in hopes that you choose to make a difference by investing in Project CENTRL. An overriding reality of a recent Board of Directors strategic planning meeting is that CENTRL must be more successful in fund raising efforts. The strategic planning process started with compelling messages on personal beliefs in Project CENTRL and continued with a strong focus on “The Future of Project CENTRL…Financially Speaking”. After recognizing the harsh economic challenges of today and with a strong desire to continue to grow a legacy of leadership in the future, this is an ideal time to support CENTRL. Board members, alumni, class members, sponsors, and friends are reminded that you are an important part of a unique family and now is an important time for all to help “Make a Difference” by investing in Project CENTRL!

It is most rewarding to see CENTRL Alumni in action and the many ways they continue to recruit, network, and support Project CENTRL. A very productive work session held in early March and the CRC held in Buckeye are the most recent examples of how our Alumni Council is hard at work in inspiring a life long journey of leadership and making a difference in Project CENTRL.

Speaking of “Making a Difference”, I wished more could have seen the impressive leadership on display in Prescott by Class XXI and the special way they completed their first year of Project CENTRL. It was most impressive to see the quality presentations shared by all of the leadership teams in Prescott. A distinguished panel of Board members and Alumni judged the quality performances and agreed that a proud tradition of cultivating leaders is progressing very nicely with the current class.

For nearly three decades, Project CENTRL has exposed many highly motivated leaders to diverse perspectives, new ideas, and life changing experiences. As we prepare to celebrate our 30th Anniversary at the graduation of Class XXI in 2013, I hope you will step up and invest in Project CENTRL. Financially speaking…your investment will “Make a Difference” in Project CENTRL!

CENTRL Class XXI… Making a Difference! Leadership with impact was on fine display in Prescott on Saturday, March 31st at the final session of the first year with current class members. After recognizing both challenges and opportunities facing public education and health care at previous seminars, class members were divided into four leadership teams and charged to develop an action plan on an assigned topic at the final session of the seminar. Patrick Bray, Executive Vice-President of the Arizona Cattle Growers Association, shared an inspirational opening session at the seminar. Patrick’s story on how the tragic loss of Arizona rancher and CENTRL Alumnus, Rob Krentz (VIII), gave focus to a highly visible and successful campaign towards securing our border with Mexico set the stage very nicely at the start of the seminar. The superb performance by each Class XXI leadership team in developing and presenting their action plans provided a powerful final session in Prescott. Special thanks is extended to CENTRL board members and alumni Eddie Browning (VIII), Paul Brierley (XVI), Walter Burcham (XVI), Sharla Mortimer (XIX), and Jeff Wooley (XX), who served as judges and reviewed each team’s presentation. An executive summary of action plans are available in the Project CENTRL office or you can call on a Class XXI team member for more information.

Page 6

Graduates of Ontario's Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program (AALP) are excited to be hosting the

2012 International Leadership Alumni Conference (ILAC)

Delta London Armouries, London, Ontario

August 8-11, 2012

As a recognized leader in the community and participant in a similar program, we invite you to join

us. Components of the program include a Taste of Ontario Tapas Bar, watching the sunset over

Lake Huron, visiting an ice sculpture company, seeing how ginseng is grown, and hearing from

entrepreneurial winners of the Premiers Award of Excellence. More details of the program and

registration forms are available at http://www.ilac-ontario.com

You will be provided with an opportunity to: • continue your lifelong learning experience in rural and agricultural leadership • develop networks with leaders around the globe

We Are Inviting You To Join Us!

Go to

www.ilac-ontario.com

For details

Go to www.centrl.org. Click on the link for the alumni directory located on the right side of the page Located in a box. The username is “alumni and the password is “alumni” Once you are at the directory, you can sort by the fields located at the top.

Please let the CENTRL Office know if you have any questions or suggestions.

ALU

MN

I IN

AC

TIO

N

Diann Prechel Kuykendall (Class XIV) Diann and Brian were married January 21 in Sedona at the Sedona Golf Resort.

It was a crisp beautiful afternoon with Bell Rock as the backdrop for their wedding.

CENTRL alums attending were, Cheryl Goar (IX), Renee Hamstra (XX), Carrie Hamstra (XII), Jeff Wooley (XX), Steve Sossaman (I)

and bridesmaid - Barbie Marley (XX).

Congratulations and best wishes!!

Pam Pearsall (Class XX) had a grandbaby born on May 6th at 4:20 a.m. His name is Kaleb Ray Pearsall and he weighs 6 pounds 13 ounces.

Congratulations Pam!

A Few Reminders for Dad, from the Next Generation

If you were standing here with a group of your dad’s peers, what suggestions would you give to help them to prepare the next generation for a leadership role?

On the latest episode of the Farm Journal "Leave a Legacy TV," I had the opportunity to interview Wes Kerr, a very capable, well-spoken next generation leader in the dairy industry. His answer may surprise you, yet his insight is invaluable.

When asked, Wes started right in, "I think a huge part of being able to prepare the next generation is to actually let us be a part of it [the operation]."

He went on, "People need to realize that you have to get the younger generation involved early and actually let them have a real part of the operation – not just a nominal thing – ‘Oh yeah, go take care of the cows, kid.’ Actually let them learn how to manage the herd, let them know how to take care of the cows, how to pull calves, how to treat a cow that may be sick. All of those are just hands-on things.

"If you have someone who’s there to give you advice, that’s very important," Wes continued to explain. "But, at some point, they [dads] need to be able to take a step back and let that young person learn. And make a couple of mistakes, but learn from those mistakes. …as long as they have a real opportunity to make real decisions that they can see the effects of, that’s going to be the key for the next generation to want to be a part of the operation and also have that experience to give them a future."

Send alumni updates to Diane Junion at junion@cableone.net

Page 7

Kelly (Class XX) and Kathy Moss were blessed with another precious child. Jensen Lee was born into the Moss family (Mom, Dad and six siblings) in good health, weighing 9 lbs 1 oz, and measuring 21" long. Congrats Moss Family!

By Kevin Spafford, Farm Journal Legacy Project

Rochell Planty (Class XIV), owner of Rockin R Meetings & Events, LLC, was recently honored with the Artisan Award from the Arizona Professional Photographers Association at the annual awards banquet where she was also completing her term as the 2011-2012 Association President and moved into the Immediate Past President Board position. Rochell is also completing her last 5 months as President of the Arizona Sunbelt Chapter of Meeting Professionals International. Rochell has been able to continue to share the leadership skills she gained through Project CENTRL.

Page 8

By Becky Nutt, Class XXI It’s not possible to speak for the twenty classes before us, but as representative of Class XXI I can say this is truly an outstanding group of people! We enjoy our diversities and blend them with our commonalities and are creating a united voice for the prosperity of rural Arizona. Class XXI is learning, growing, and working together for the greater good of our communities, state, nation, and world. Project CENTRL far outweighs other leadership programs! The quality of speakers has been a university experience that the reflection sessions have helped cement key points and elements. We have utilized the lessons from our second session on speaking and many of us routinely use the book for continuing practice. Board meetings have become productive, and relationships are better managed by understanding our (and their) True Colors. We have built rapport in our communities while expanding involvement in our

local schools and health care programs to be a larger part in their productivity and sustainability. The Prescott experience in March brought us to the culmination of months of study on working to address and advocate for community issues. For us it was particularly healthcare and education. Divided into four teams we were assigned a topic to address and design a plan to change a current situation. Team 1: Develop a plan to consolidate two school districts. Team 2: Develop a plan to improve student performance in an underperforming school. Team 3: Develop a plan to attract and retain quality health care providers for a rural community. Team 4: Develop a plan to identify and implement healthy programs & activities for a rural community. Granted each team had talented folks who are well versed in how to “develop a plan to….” The challenge was stirring that up with a new team in a 36-hour turn around. This had potential for disaster written all over it. However, we rose to the occasion and each team was exceptional in their address, presentation, and creativity of overcoming the challenge they were assigned. Really great presentations by all! Everett has been acknowledged by his peers as an outstanding individual and advisor—we have had the privilege of finding out why. He is kind, patient, generous, but firm with high expectations of us to do our very best. We stretch to reach his standards. As to Karen, we all wish we were blessed with one tenth of her kindness and organizational skills!

Seminar 5 - Exploring Opportunities Casa Grande

Seminar 6 - Making a Difference Prescott

Page 9

Alumni in Action (continued)

Every year, member cooperat ive communicators participate in a Communications Competition of the National Milk Producers Federation, an industry organization representing most of the US dairy cooperatives. The competition recognizes excellence among NMPF cooperative communicators, provides an outside evaluation of communications efforts, and offers comments for improvements.

In 2011, over one hundred entries were

submitted in 14 categories. Winning entries were displayed at an exhibit in the Dairy Bar during the Annual Meeting. This year's Outstanding Achievement in Communications Award (which recognizes exceptional accomplishment in the fields of public relations, publishing, writing, advertising, and special projects that spreads the interests and objectives of America’s dairy farmers) was awarded to UDA’s Frances Lechner, a Project CENTRL graduate from Class XVIII, and Past Chair of the CENTRL Alumni Council.

Frances was selected in part because of the

success of her entries in this year’s communications competition, and because of her dedication to NMPF and her cooperative UDA. The “Outstanding Communicator of the Year” award is a sign of NMPF’s recognition of the Frances’ hard work and commitment to excellence demonstrated throughout the year.

Class XXI was excited and honored to lead the way as the first group to tour Canada. Our study-tour included prominent Ontario farms that are front runners of innovation in their fields of expertise. Ontario is a beautiful province in itself, but especially for Canadian agriculture where they enjoy an average of 3” rainfall per month! We were further impressed with Ontario’s advanced studies not only in bio diversity, but the University of Guelph’s DNA program. Exciting times for sure in genetic coding. All-in-all this was a study tour we recommend for future Project CENTRL classes.

Class XXI visited a greenhouse with 13 acres “under glass” growing yellow and red bell peppers, mainly for export to the U.S. The peppers have

to be stickered and sorted by size to ensure the proper weight per crate for export. The retailers are demanding higher and higher quality peppers. Our

hosts told us that they think greenhouses are going to be the only way to go to meet the demand for high quality peppers. The Armoury, where we learned about a local businessman

who is restoring historic buildings and revitalizing the economic development of downtown Chatham-Kent, a municipality of 100,000 people in rural Ontario.

There were many, beautiful historic buildings! This is downtown Chatham-Kent. More to come about Canada in the next newsletter…..

Frances Lechner (Class XVIII) Earns “Outstanding Communicator

Of the Year Award.”

The Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation UA College of Ag & Life Sciences - Cooperative Extension

Dr. Scholl Foundation Arizona Public Service

United Dairymen of Arizona Salt River Project

Arizona Farm Bureau Yuma County Farm Bureau

Arizona Grain Research and Promotion Council Farm Credit Services Southwest

Gary Pasquinelli Family Maricopa County Farm Bureau Navajo County Farm Bureau

Western Growers Association Tim Dunn Farms

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS FOR THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT TO CENTRL

Keep sending your articles, interesting

stories and pictures to

Diane Junion junion@cableone.net

Or The CENTRL Office

karen@centrl.org

Board Members

Bas Aja Fred Amator Grant Boice Paul Brierley Eddie Browning Con Englehorn Matt Eyrich

Carrie Hamstra Jim Klinker Lucia Konrath Glenna McCollum-Cloud Paul Rovey Robert Shuler Erik Swanson Heather Walker

Officers

Cheryl Goar, President George Seperich, Vice President Jim Webb, Secretary Brett Cameron, Treasurer Lisa Ann James, Alumni Chair

Project CENTRL Board of Directors CENTRL Alumni Council Council Members Brad Andes (VI) 928-853-1083 bandes82@gmail.com Bill Brandau (VI) 928-965-5198 wbrandau@cals.arizona.edu Walter Burcham (XVI) 928-533-3280 Walter.burcham@gmail.com Terisha Driggs (XX) 480-678-0253 Terisha_driggs@yahoo.com Ed Foster (XIV) 480-861-3060 efoster@azda.gov Dallas Hillhouse (XIX) 928-916-1440 hillhouse@rraz.net Frank Pratt (XVIII) 520-560-6372 fpratt@azleg.gov Trent Swanson (XVIII) 928-925-3314 trent@trentswansonoutdoors.com

Chair Lisa Ann James (XIX) 602-510-4770 ljames@azda.gov Vice-Chair Scott Loughead (XIX) 480-239-4663 sloughead@altagenetics.com Secretary Tiffany Ground (XIX) 602-909-9696 tground@cox.net Reporter Diane Junion (XX) 928-965-4604 junion@cableone.net Past Chair Frances Lechner (XVIII) 623-256-5125 flechner@uda.coop

Class XXI Representatives Becky Nutt 928-965-8124 becky@azcommerceexchange.com Ryan Tregaskes 602-725-3736 tregaskes@cox.net

Project CENTRL Mission Statement To assist highly motivated leaders improve

and expand their leadership skills to become more effective and responsive in

meeting the needs of rural people.

Online donations can be

made at the CENTRL

website at www.centrl.org,

click on donate and

make your annual

contribution to

Project CENTRL.