He National Junior Horticulture Association (NJHA) convention, held at the Airport Hilton in St. Louis, Missouri on October 5 through October 8, was attended by the Wildcat District horticulture judging team representing the state of Kansas. The team members Ashley Chandler, Kelsey Schaplowsky, Taya Maxson, and Cloey Jones garnered this privilege by placing 1st in the Kansas horticulture judging contest held in Manhattan on August 18th. Under the coaching guidance of Christina Beason and utilizing the study materials that I prepared, these four girls spent several weeks of intense studying preparing for the national contest. Their hard work paid off when they captured 3rd place at the national contest; the California team took 1st place and the Maryland team took 2nd. The NJHA convention was more than a contest for the girls; they along with all the participants were treated to various educational workshops and tours. Among the top attractions included a ride to the top of the Gateway Arch, a tour of Baisch and Skinner wholesale florist, and a visit to the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Another important event that occurs every October is the KSRE Annual Conference held in Manhattan on the K-State campus. This year’s conference was held on October 16 through October 18. This event is an excellent opportunity to visit with fellow agents and exchange important programming ideas (i.e., Horticulture PFT meeting), and also to hear from the administrators. I found the remarks by K-State’s president, Richard Myers, very interesting as he described how his understanding of the value of KSRE grew over the past year. My favorite presentation this year was the presentation, “Understanding Changing Demographics in Kansas,” given by Matthew Sanderson, K-State Associate Professor of Sociology.
My other scheduled activities included: Wednesday morning (7:40 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.) radio shows on KGGF 690 AM in Coffeyville; a news article – Controlling Broadleaf Weeds in Late October; and pre-recorded radio spots – Weekly Ag News and Extension Minutes Reports (Harvesting Black Walnuts, Twig Girdlers, Compost Making, and Fall Foliage Color). Our Wildcat District agriculture agents PDC meeting is scheduled for noon on Friday, November 29, at the Chinese Chef restaurant. My live, KOAM TV Wildcat Wednesday presentation about the winter care of houseplants is scheduled for November 28.
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