Agricultural News
Edmond Bonjour Receives International Award for His Innovation in Leadership Development
Tue, 25 Oct 2016 14:19:35 CDT
Edmond Bonjour, Director of the Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Program (OALP) was recognized with the 2016 Outstanding International Leadership Program Director Award. Bonjour received the award during the recent annual gathering of the International Association of Programs for Agricultural Leadership (IAPAL) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The award was presented at the annual Conference by Marie Hvidsten, Rural Leadership Specialist and Rural Leadership North Dakota Program Director, last year's award recipient, and Dr. Joe Waldrum, Executive Secretary of IAPAL.
Waldrum said, "Bonjour received this honor for his innovations in leadership development in Oklahoma, being a mentor to directors of emerging agricultural leadership programs, and his dedicated support of the IAPAL organization. He is highly respected by his IAPAL peers in his work with leaders and leadership development. We are delighted and proud to acknowledge publicly his talent and impact with this prestigious award."
The Outstanding International Leadership Program Director Award was begun by Dr. Bill and Polly Pope in 1999. Dr. Pope began the Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership Program in the late 1980s at Texas A & M University and was its first director. After his retirement at TAMU, he became the Executive Secretary of IAPAL and held this position until his death in 2010. He and his wife Polly felt that directors of statewide leadership development programs were not being recognized for their efforts in these unique positions. The Popes believed that innovative directors who were good teachers and whose programs were producing effective leaders for agriculture and rural areas should be showcased by this annual award.
Edmond is a native of Olin, Iowa. He received his B.A. degree in Mathematics and Biology from Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa in 1983. He has conducted research and performed extension tasks in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Oklahoma State University since 1983 and received his M.S. degree in Entomology from OSU in 1988. Edmond continues to hold a quarter-time position in that department as an Extension Entomologist specializing in stored grain protection. He was a member of Class XIII of the Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Program and became the Director of the Oklahoma program in 2010.
The IAPAL is a consortium of leadership programs in the U.S.A., Canada, and several other countries. Most IAPAL member programs have a two-year curriculum designed for up to 30 key leaders selected through application and interview processes.
Source - Oklahoma State University
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