Nebraska

Students from the Albion, Nebraska, area attended a business and industry event hosted by the Boone County Development Agency at the Niewohner Arena. This event gave students the chance to connect with local businesses and explore the career paths available in the community. Students learned about opportunities waiting for them at home-to encourage them, support them, and inspire them to put their skills to work in the community they grew up in. Emily Jacobson, program manager, asked the Nebraska AgrAbility team to share the degrees they held and a bit about each of the degrees. Emily provided this information to the students. The students also participated in interactive activities that prompted discussions on the role of AgrAbility in helping people with disabilities overcome barriers. The future is bright after working with these talented young people at the event!

Nebraska AgrAbility was invited to be on the advisory group for the Nebraska Farmer Veteran Coalition. Emily has been participating in its board meetings to help organize the group, and going forward, she will work to promote the organization at upcoming events. Kirstin Bailey, Center for Rural Affairs, shared more details in a recent article. Kirstin is also a member of the Nebraska AgrAbility advisory team.

Members of the Nebraska AgrAbility team Kara Brichacek, rural rehabilitation specialist, and Emily Jacobson, program manager, attended the National Reinke Sales Convention in Lincoln, Nebraska. Over 650 dealers and their families from across the nation attended the event. The Nebraska AgrAbility booth was well-received, and there were many opportunities to visit with attendees and make important connections. Kara and Emily also connected people to the AgrAbility programs in their states, and for those from states without an AgrAbility program, they were directed to National AgrAbility. Several of the Nebraska Reinke dealers took AgrAbility flyers to hang in their offices. Kara has been instrumental in providing updates on the Nebraska AgrAbility Facebook page and shared a thank you to Reinke Sales following the event. John Davis, Rural Rehabilitation Specialist, Nebraska AgrAbility was instrumental in making this connection for the team. Thank you, Kara and John.

Submitted by Soni Cochran