AGNR Faculty Win National Awards

UME Faculty Honored at National Ag Agents Meeting

Two University of Maryland Extension (UME) faculty received major awards at the recent 2009 National Association of County Ag Agents Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference in Portland, Oregon.

Willie Lantz, a UME educator in Garrett County, was honored with an Achievement Award, which is presented to individuals with less than 10 years of Extension service who are selected by their peers for excellence in their field of expertise. Lantz has focused on developing sustainable agriculture enterprises, involving dairy, meat goats, fruits and vegetables, and forestry. He has led a team of investigators looking into the development of day-neutral strawberry production, and also is involved in a multi-county effort to increase participation in community organization and government through the creation of the Western Maryland Rural Leadership Academy.

Susan Schoenian, a regional UME specialist for sheep and goats, took home a Distinguished Service Award. She and her fellow recipients represent the top two percent of the membership of NACAA as chosen by their peers and Extension directors in various states. They represent a careful search by the members of each state recognition and awards committee, each of the state associations of county agricultural agents, and the coordination of these efforts by the regional and national committee members. A 21-year Extension veteran, Schoenian began her career in Maryland in 1988 as an agricultural agent in Wicomico County and later served as a regional farm management specialist. During her career, Schoenian has conducted educational programs in livestock production, farm business management, grain marketing, and 4-H.

Both Lantz and Schoenian shared their expertise through presentations at the conference, as did their colleague David Myers, a UME educator in Anne Arundel County who received the NACAA Mid-Career Award.