Arizona Rural Leadership Program Celebrates 25 Years
Founding Supporters, Arizona Farm Bureau Recognizes One of Its Own Outstanding Alumni Winners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARIZONA, August 29, 2007— Arizona’s rural leadership program, Project CENTRL, will be celebrating its 25th anniversary at a Gala Graduation and Alumni Dinner October 19th. The event will be held at the Grace Inn in Tempe. Formed in 1982 with support from Arizona Farm Bureau, the University of Arizona and other organizations, Project CENTRL has provided leadership training to more than 500 rural leaders over the past 25 years. The Gala honors the latest graduates, 28 members of CENTRL Class XVIII, who are community leaders from throughout rural Arizona that have successfully completed a two-year leadership program. One graduate, Liz Foster, is field services manager for Arizona Farm Bureau’s southern counties.
A highlight of the upcoming Gala Graduation and Alumni Dinner is the presentation of the Outstanding Alumni Awards under four categories. The award winners are Tracy Candelaria of Concho for Community Service; Diane Joens of Cottonwood for Natural Resources; Eddie Browning of Gilbert for Public Policy, and Arizona Farm Bureau member Dan Thelander of Maricopa for Agriculture.
Thelander is being recognized for his tireless efforts to make air quality regulations work for the agriculture industry and community at large.
More than ever, leaders of rural communities continue to seek solutions to complex problems such as rural urban interface, the management and use of natural resources, economic development, regional planning, and communicating information on key public policy issues. It is apparent that rural and agricultural leaders must be better trained and more knowledgeable to meet the growing demands and challenges facing Arizona.
The Project CENTRL educational program consists of twelve highly interactive seminars scheduled over two years. Class members also have a five-day state or international exchange seminar at the end of the first year. This seminar is an in-depth visit with another state or country that has a similar rural or agricultural leadership program. A national seminar is taken at the end of the second year to Washington D.C. All class members are required to complete an internship that is designed to apply leadership skills learned during Project CENTRL in a community based project.
“With the upcoming graduation of Class XVIII in October, over 500 individuals will have completed CENTRL Leadership Training,” states Ben Cloud, President of the Project CENTRL Alumni Council. “Graduates of Project CENTRL are active leaders in business, community and government. We have a growing number of elected and appointed members of government.”
Six members of Arizona Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer and Rancher program have been accepted into the incoming Class XIX, assuring strong leadership for the future. Additionally, four regular farm bureau members were selected for Class XIX.
For more information on the Gala, please contact Project CENTRL at (520) 316-0909.
About Project CENTRL
The Center for Rural Leadership (Project CENTRL) is an educational program developed by The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension with the assistance of individuals, corporations, Arizona Farm Bureau and other Arizona rural organizations under a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Michigan. Additionally, an endowed gift from the Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation was given in 1998. The program is a partnership between The University of Arizona and the nonprofit Center for Rural Leadership Foundation. You can learn more about Project CENTRL by going to their web site at http://cals.arizona.edu/centrl/
About Arizona Farm Bureau
The Arizona Farm Bureau is a grassroots organization dedicated to preserving and improving the Agriculture industry through member involvement in education, political activities, programs and services. For more information, visit www.azfb.org or call (480) 635-3606.
