Much is written about the importance of employee recognition. Recognition is a great motivator and has a positive impact on morale, productivity, and the culture of an organization. Recognition, especially on a national scale, brings greater visibility and credibility. Awards can inspire others to achieve excellence.

2022-2023 Awardees

Each year the Alabama Cooperative Extension System at Alabama A&M University submits its annual list of awardees to Extension Today, the official newsletter of the Association of Extension Administrators. This year we proudly share this list of individuals who received special recognition and/or grant awards from October 2022 to September 2023. Employees are honored for their exceptional service or they received grant or scholarship funds to expand outreach efforts.

• Destinee Simmons, a chemistry major and Alabama Extension volunteer, won first place in the poster contest. She won for her presentation on the Occurrence of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Product Contamination in Southern Alabama Waters in partnership with Alabama Extension’s SerPIE program.
• Agribition Center Assistant Manager Donna Gilbert received the 2023 Outstanding Earth Team Volunteer Award from the local USDA National Resource Conservation Service.
• Marcus Garner, an urban home grounds regional agent, is the recipient of a 2023 Great American Gardeners Award. Garner received the Emerging Horticultural Professional Award from the American Horticultural Society. He is the first awardee in this category from a historically black college and university.
• Assistant Director Kimberly Sinclair-Holmes was chosen as a 2023 fellow of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Executive Leadership Institute.
• Terence Martin and Roosevelt Robinson completed the Second Cohort for the Environmental Justice Academy of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
• Roosevelt Robinson was also selected as the 2023 Alabama PLT Educator of the Year by the Alabama Project Learning Tree.

Roosevelt Robinson with Project Learning Tree Committee Members

Extension Organizations

• Danielle Rudolph and Candra Debose won the 2023 Distinguished Team Award from Epsilon Sigma Phi-Apha Pi Chapter, National Extension Professional’s Organization.
• Dorothy Brandon, Danielle Rudolph, Darlene Minniefield, Bree Steele, Pamela Irby, and Ciji Griffin were first-place winners for the Human Development/Family Relationship Award from the National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS) Alabama Affiliate.
• Darlene Minniefield also won several awards from the NEAFCS. She won the Innovation in Programming Award, placing third nationally and first in the western region. In addition, she was a Florence Hall Award winner as a member of the Leadership Experience Committee. In this category, she placed second in the southern region and as a national winner.

Grant & Scholarship Awards

• Urban Regional Extension Agent Bronson Lubresky received a $1K scholarship to attend the National Extension Disaster Education Network Conference in Savannah, Georgia.
• Environmental Extension Specialist Karnita Garner received $13,500.00 from the Renewable Resources Extension Act Capacity Grant to assist forest and range landowners and managers in making resource management decisions. Garner also received a $2,500 grant to help small towns and communities in the Gulf Coast plan for disaster and climate change conditions.
• Dorothy Brandon is the principal investigator (PI) for a $640,000 grant from Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) to help parents teach their children personal finance. Terence Martin and Lamar Pryor serve as co-PIs. Brandon is also a CYFAR coach.
• Brandon also received a $58K sub-award from the Southern Rural Development Center for a USDA AFRI-Grant to address digital inequities in disadvantaged communities.
• Alabama 4-H Youth Development Specialist Angela Williams won a Tech Changemaker’s Grant for $200,700 and was awarded $30,800 for the National Mentoring Program from the National 4-H Council.
• Tamara Warren received a $40K grant from the Center of Excellence for Nutrition, Health, Wellness, and Quality of Life.

Congratulations to all award and special recognition winners.