Nebraska LEAD Group 36 participants were recently announced by Terry Hejny, director of the Nebraska LEAD program. LEAD stands for Leadership Education/Action Development.

The newest members of Nebraska's premier two-year agricultural leadership development program in its 36th year are made up exclusively of participants who are involved in production agriculture or agribusiness in Nebraska.

LEAD 36: The newest members of the Nebraska LEAD program, now in its 36th year, were recently announced.

"We are proud to say that Class 36 appears to be filled with outstanding individuals from throughout the state, and I am excited to get started with them. Class 36 consists of ‘30 diamonds in the rough,’ and our job is polish them up, preparing them for future leadership roles in their community, our state and beyond," Hejny said.

The two-year program begins in September.

LEAD Fellows will participate in 12 monthly three-day seminars across Nebraska, a 10-day national study and travel seminar, and a 14- to 16-day international study and travel seminar. The goal of the program is to develop problem-solvers, decision-makers and spokespeople for agriculture and Nebraska.

Seminar themes include leadership assessment and potential, natural resources and energy, leadership through communication, agricultural policy and finance, Nebraska’s political process, global perspectives, nuclear energy, social and cultural issues, understanding and developing leadership skills, agribusiness and marketing, information technology, advances in health care, resources and people of Nebraska’s Panhandle, and other areas designed to develop leaders through exposure to a broad array of topics and issues and how they interrelate.

The Nebraska LEAD Program is operated by the nonprofit Nebraska Agricultural Leadership Council in cooperation with the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and 12 other institutions of higher education throughout Nebraska.

LEAD fellows
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, Robert Campbell, 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

Source: Nebraska LEAD program