Richland SWCD salutes local farmers
MANSFIELD – Randy and Eileen Eisenhauer of the Eisenhauer Family Farm were recognized as Cooperator of the Year at the Richland Soil and Water Conservation District (Richland SWCD) annual celebration. The Eisenhauers’ dedication to numerous conservation practices serve to protect and preserve Richland County’s natural resources.
Randy and Eileen Eisenhauer have been committed to agriculture and conservation their entire lives. They both grew up in agriculture families and have passed along their passion and dedication for agriculture and soil and water conservation along to their daughters.
The Eisenhauer Family Farm started with bare ground in 2003. Today it is a diversified operation with beef cow/calf and meat goat production, hay and grain production and honeybees. They have about 22 acres in pasture and another 25 acres in grain.
They rent an additional 44 acres of ground for crops and hay and generally have 12-15 cows that they calve each year. They kid around 30-35 does annually for the 4-H and FFA project market and have 10 hives of honeybees and harvest and sell honey.
Conservation practices the Eisenhauer’s have incorporated throughout the years include waterways, windbreaks, riparian buffers-filter strips, wetland development, spring development and rotational grazing. The NRCS EQIP (Natural Resources Conservation Service-Environmental Quality Incentives Program) allowed them to make great strides in soil conservation and water quality protection as they built their farm.
They released pheasants in 2019 and would like to release more pheasants in the future along with some quail. They had a covey of quail until the ice storm in 2005 which froze them out and destroyed their habitat. They have installed wood duck boxes at the WHIP pond and along the creek in the woods. Bluebird houses are installed along the buffer strip and on fence posts of the pasture.
The Eisenhauer family includes their daughters, Kaitlyn, married to Brandon Spangler, and Kristen Eisenhauer. All the Eisenhauers attended Ohio State University and earned bachelor’s degrees in agriculture. Randy is in his 29th year of teaching agriculture and being an FFA adviser. He is at Shelby High School. Eileen works as the county office administrator for Crawford, Marion, Morrow and Richland county Farm Bureaus and has been with the Farm Bureau since 2003. Eileen is a 4-H volunteer, Senior Fair Board goat barn superintendent at the Richland County Fair and serves on the County Livestock Committee.
Richland County 4-H recognizes achievement
MANSFIELD – Richland County 4-H held its annual 4-H Honor Program on Nov. 8 via Zoom. Recognition was given to 4-H members, adult volunteers and “friends” of the Richland County 4-H program. The top 4-H member honors were given to Member-of-the-Year recipients Emily Dittman (Shelby), Candace Kissinger (Mansfield), Thalia Kurtzman (Mansfield) and Connor Ladd (Mansfield)
The Outstanding Service to 4-H Awards, given to 4-H advisers on the basis of excellence in 4-H volunteer leadership on the club and/or county level, were presented to: Sue Cook (Mansfield), Carrie Kurtzman (Mansfield) and Trudi Tilton (Bellville). Meritorious Service to 4-H awards, given to special friends (non-member and non-advisor) of the 4-H program were presented to: Gary Blum, senior fair board president, and Jeff & Melanie Barbe, long-time supporters of the 4-H program.
Four teen leaders were recognized with the Outstanding Junior Leader Award for outstanding leadership and service to the county 4-H program. Honorees included: Alexa Fulk (Bellville), Cadence Fairchild and Sierra Schaffer (Shelby) and Thalia Kurtzman (Mansfield).
Two of the teen leaders, Schaffer and Fulk, were recognized with the Junior Leader Merit Award as the top teen leaders in the county for exceptional leadership and service.
A number of other 4-H members were recognized in various categories. All 4-H clubs have the opportunity to attain a gold, silver banner or bronze award distinction based on officer reports, project completion, member attendance, public speaking participation, health and community service activities, parent/family involvement, member/advisor training and community awareness/promotion.
The Silver Banner club award was given to Next Generation 4-H (Mansfield/Crestview). The Bronze Banner club award was presented to the Ring Raiders 4-H (Shelby). Honorable Mention recognition went to Wild-n-Free 4-H (Mansfield) and Blue-Gold 4-H (Ontario/Mansfield).
Forty-three youth were honored as recipients of the county’s 53 county medal awards. These awards are given for outstanding project and/or activity achievement.
Members in attendance were given recognition for completion of their 4-H project year. The Richland County 4-H Committee presented membership pins to youth with 10 or more years of membership:
Adult volunteers were recognized for their years of service to the 4-H program. Special awards were given to advisors with 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 or more years of service. Those recognized with more than 30 years were Cathy Gardner (36 years), Diana Kelley (37 years) and Glen McLaughlin (43 years).
AU online MBA program celebrates 10 years
ASHLAND – In 2010. Ashland University began offering online classes to only a handful of MBA students. Now in 2020, AU is projected to graduate 115 online MBA students. Though the university once offered only one program, Ashland now offers more than 11 specializations with a variety of flexible pacing options, including two one-year completion options.
Amid the impact of COVID-19, Ashland reformatted programs to fit the virtual environment many Americans found themselves in. Additionally, they made innovation a top priority by creating a virtual study tour that provides students with global business exposure and networking opportunities.
Ashland University’s MBA programs continue to outperform other universities. Ashland has seen over a 50% increase in MBA interest over the last three months and is on pace to enroll more students in their January 2021 spring class than ever before.
Over the past year, Ashland University has received countless #1 online program rankings in the state and globally from U.S. News, CEO Magazine, and more.
Ohio Connections Academy recognizes Mansfield student
COLUMBUS – Lestat Wade of Mansfield,was named one of Ohio Connections Academy’s (OCA) Star Students for November in recognition of his academic achievements and leadership.
Lestat, a junior at the statewide online public charter school, was nominated by his teacher in recognition of his positive attitude toward school, which serves as a positive example for his classmates. As a Star Student, Lestat will be presented a certificate and will be profiled in Ohio Connections Academy’s student newsletter and on the school’s website.
Lestat has been attending Ohio Connections Academy since 2018. Ohio Connections Academy is a tuition free, fully-online, public school that students in grades K-12 attend from home.
MWCD announces new executive team member
NEW PHILADELPHIA – The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) announced the promotion of Adria Bergeron to join the executive management team as director of marketing and communications. Bergeron is responsible for directing and managing a comprehensive marketing and communications strategy that includes promoting and maintaining the MWCD branding, advertising and public relations initiatives that using media and strategies such as corporate and other sponsorships to encourage use of MWCD recreational facilities. Bergeron also serves as the primary spokesperson to the public and the media for the MWCD.
A native of Tuscarawas County, Bergeron is a graduate of the University of Akron, with a business degree in marketing management. She began with the MWCD in 2014 as the recreation marketing coordinator. Her experience includes director of marketing for New Towne Mall in New Philadelphia and director of marketing for the San Diego Air and Space Museum in San Diego, California.
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