WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Indiana Extension Educators Assoc. presented awards Thursday, Nov. 8 to county educators during a luncheon at Purdue Extension’s annual Professional Development Conference.

Awards and recipients included: Agricultural and Natural Resources - Individual: James C. Luzar of Vigo County for Terre Haute Federal Prison Food System Training; Career: Mark Spelbring of Parke County and Team: Ann Delchambre (Putnam), Stacy Clupper (Blackford), Miranda Ulery (Harrison), Jon Cain (Hendricks), Kelly Heckaman (Kosciusko), Gene Matzat (LaPorte), Rena Sheldon (Morgan), Maria Restrepo (Pike), Amanda Mosiman (Warrick) and Chris Parker (Morgan) for Back to Basics: Novice’s Guide to Farm Animals. Economic and Community Development - Individual: Hans Schmitz of Gibson County for Master Gardeners. Health and Human Sciences - Individual: Peggy L. Davis of Clay and Owen counties for Cervical Cancer in Focus; Career: Jackie Baumann of Putnam County and Team: Allison Goshorn (LaPorte) and Joy Dugan (Montgomery) for Growing Stronger. 4-H Youth Development - Bob Amick: Cheven May of Posey County for Adventures in Learning; Career: Mary Jo Robinson of Crawford and Orange counties; and Team: Melissa Merida (Floyd), Mallory Dolan (Orange), Amy Nierman (Washington), JT Benitez (Harrison), Bob Allen (Clark), Mary Jo Robinson (Crawford/Orange) and Jackie Benham (Scott) for Power Up Night! International - Jim F. Murren (International Programs in Agriculture), Edward Farris (Huntington), J. Scott Monroe (Daviess), Amy Thompson (Monroe), Stacy Clupper (Blackford), Carmen DeRusha (Marion), Margie Zoglmann (Perry), Bill Horan (Wells) and Kris Parker (Porter) for Fostering and Encouraging Economic Activity at Home and Abroad - Costa Rica 2011. Diversity - Margie Zoglmann (Perry), Kelly Heckaman (Kosciusko), Bethany Ratts (Henry), Christa Holloway (Fulton), Gene Matzat (LaPorte), Bryan Overstreet (Jasper) and Lyndsay Ploehn (Porter) for Annie’s Project: Empowering Farm Women to be Better Business Partners. Cooperative Extension Service Team - Lindy Miller (Greene), Tammy Steiner (Greene) and Polly Gettinger (Greene) for Your Amazing Future in Greene County.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – You must be good at your job when they start naming crop varieties for you. 

That’s the case with Dr. Fred Allen, who has been named a Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America for 2012. Allen was nominated by a colleague in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture with supporting letters from peers within CSSA. 

The CSSA Fellow award is the highest recognition given by the society to its members. Fewer than half of 1 percent of the active and emeritus members may be elected to Fellow. The plant scientist has served as the major professor for nine Ph.D. and 21 M.S. graduate students, and has taught more than 1,400 students. 

Allen is in his 37th year with UT AgResearch and UT Extension, and has served as UT soybean breeder and department head before his current position as UTIA Coordinator of the statewide Agronomic Crop Variety Testing Program. He is an expert in plant breeding and crop genetics, and has been involved in the development of 14 different soybean varieties grown throughout Tennessee and the southeast. 

One of the varieties developed and patented by UT AgResearchers is named “Allen” for Dr. Allen, as a tribute to his contributions to agriculture. At first, Allen wasn’t too keen on the idea of having his name attached to the variety because that’s something that’s usually done posthumously, and he didn’t know for sure how well it would work.