The Pinnacle Award, the highest honor a state organization can be awarded for program and membership achievement, went to the Kansas Farm Bureau this year.

KFB president Rich Felts said it was an honor to receive the award on behalf of Kansas but that the credit for earning it goes to the staff of KFB and to the great workers in the state's 105 counties whose efforts were rewarded with national recognition.

The award was presented on Sunday during the 97th Annual American Farm Bureau Federation Convention and IDEAg Trade Show in Orlando.

PINNACLE AWARD: Kansas Farm Bureau President Rich Felts, left, receives the Pnnacle Award from outgoing American Farm Bureau President, Bob Stallman.

Felts said Pinnacle awards are presented in six size categories to state organization. Other states who earned Pinnacle awards are Iowa, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Montana and North Carolina.

"I feel like Kansas stood out in a couple of ways," Felts said. "We have done very good work on education and leadership development in the last year. Kansas initiated a leader program and a spokesperson training program that I am especially proud of."

He said Kansas also stood out for policy implementation and gave credit for that to KFB staff members.

"We have four or five people who worked very hard on policy implementation," he said. "We are able to do more because of our size of membership, but those people still made a very strong effort and I am proud of what we were able to do. We have a slogan of "Farm Bureau Proud" and I sent out an email last night to staffers telling them 'on your behalf, I am Farm Bureau Proud to be able to receive this award."

The American Farm Bureau Federation will elect a new president on Tuesday, replacing Bob Stallman, who has served as AFBF president for the past 16 years.

"We've had a lot of politicking in the last few days and we have four very good candidates for president," Felts said. "Whomever is elected will have some awfully big shoes to fill. Bob Stallman has been an extraordinary leader for our organization."