Kansas

Kansas AgrAbility was honored to participate as an exhibitor and to serve on the planning committee for the 2018 Farmer Veteran Stakeholders Conference in Kansas City. There were over 200 engaged participants eager to participate in the breakout sessions and attend the remarkable plenary panels. Kansas AgrAbility staff attended many of the sessions to further their knowledge of working with veterans and the challenges they face. Staff and attendees had the privilege to have Col. Cindy Chastain (Retired), veteran outreach coordinator for the National AgrAbility Project, speak at the conference and spend time at the exhibit table. NAP provided a pop-up banner and printed materials for attendees. Cindy spoke passionately about, and shared portions of, The Next Mission. She offered attendees a jump drive of the video. Since the jump drives were at the exhibit table, staff had direct interaction with the 200+ attendees. The assistive technology devices included an ergonomic hammer, which was irresistible to pick up and give a swing. Other devices included color-coded screwdrivers for low vision and household tools to assist someone with tremors or arthritis. Kansas AgrAbility invited Missouri AgrAbility to participate in the exhibit. Missouri provided an interesting and interactive safety glove display along with an ear and eye protection display demonstrating the different levels of protection available. The collaboration between the two SRAPs was a successful partnership at this conference as they were able to talk to veterans from around the country.

Submitted by Tawnie Larson