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TALL program calls for applicants
Texas
Texas Cooperative Extension's Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership competitive leadership development program is calling for applicants for its TALL Class X. Applications are available at http://tall.tamu.edu, and due by March 15, 2006.
The program "is a vehicle by which one may obtain some answers to the 'who, what, where, when and why' questions concerning issues in agriculture," said Clay Allison of San Angelo, Class VIII graduate.
Allison is a software engineer for Northrop Grumman and owner/manager of the Allison Half Circle A Ranch.
"Given the critical issues facing agriculture today, there is a need to provide intensive leadership development experiences for a promising new generation of leaders," said the program's director, Dr. Jim Mazurkiewicz.
The two-year program has 45 days of intense training which includes eight seminars and more than 300 speakers. Twenty-five participants will receive 455 hours of training, about the same number of hours required for a master of agriculture degree. Six of the week-long seminars will be held in Texas. The other two will include trips to Washington, D.C., and New York City, as well as a trip to China to study foreign governments, said Mazurkiewicz.
Eric Opiela of Karnes City, Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership Class IX graduate, attorney and rancher, said it "is a program which lets participants see and experience agricultural practices outside their everyday environment. The networking and learning opportunities are second to none. (Program participants) take more than the knowledge they gain home with them; they take lifelong friendships and business relationships."
Seminars with experts and group discussion enhance participants' knowledge and understanding of key subjects in agriculture. Mazurkiewicz said these seminars will cover leadership development, communications skills, economics and policy, international trade, agricultural institutions and agencies, urban/rural relations and water and energy issues.
He said on-site tours and meetings with representatives of government agencies and businesses help participants learn about production, marketing, financing and economic issues in agriculture. International study focuses on communications, ecology, government policy, economics, social problems and educational opportunity.
While the average age range of participants is 25 to 50, there is no age or educational requirement. Anyone interested who is actively involved in agriculture is encouraged to apply.
Tuition is $2,000, or 10 percent of the total expense per participant. Extension, industry gifts and grants fund the rest of the program. To help support TALL or apply for the next class, contact Mazurkiewicz at 979-845-1554.
Date: 9/22/05
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