KARL Rural Legendary Leaders: Sara Dawson (Class XII)
According to KARL Class XII's Sara Dawson (Florence, KS), her experience with this two-year Kansas leadership program was transformative.
“We always have something to learn and we always can be changing--my biggest thing with KARL was that it taught me to get outside my box,” states Dawson.
Learn more about how the KARL Program has made an impact on Dawson and her community by listening to her full story here.
KARL Legendary Rural Leaders: Luke Thornton (KARL Class XI)
The Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership (KARL) program identifies, prepares, and connects aspiring leaders to spark action that will positively impact Kansas agriculture and rural communities.
According to KARL Class XI's Luke Thornton (Harper, KS), his experience with this two-year Kansas leadership program was phenomenal.
"We were able to get an inside peek at some places that I would have never been otherwise," says Thornton.
Learn more about how the KARL Program has made a lasting impression on Thornton by listening to his full story here.
KARL Legendary Rural Leaders: Frances Graves (KARL Class XIII)
According to KARL Class XIII’s Frances Graves (Bartlett, KS), her experience with this two-year Kansas leadership program allowed her the opportunity to learn about different ideas that had been tried in other Kansas communities.
“The KARL experience is very much pro-adaptive leadership, empowering people at all different levels and facing challenges head-on and figuring out what needs to be done,” states Graves.
Learn more about how the KARL Program has made an impact on Graves and her community by listening to her full story here.
KARL Legendary Rural Leaders: Danielle Kaminski (Class XVI)
According to KARL Class XVI’s Danielle Kaminski (Hays, KS), this two-year Kansas leadership program provided her the opportunity to learn more about Kansas while also sharing her gained knowledge and experiences with her students.
“There are commonalities across the whole state, so if you’re passionate in a particular area, I bet you’ll end up hearing from a speaker or have a classmate who also is passionate in that area and will allow you to think new ways about that particular topic,” states Kaminski.
Learn more about how the KARL Program has made a lasting impact on Kaminski by listening to her full story here.
KARL Legendary Rural Leaders: Ken Wood (KARL Class II)
According to KARL Class II’s Ken Wood (Chapman, KS), this two-year Kansas leadership program provided him with valuable resources that he was able to apply when serving his community.
Wood reflects on his time of service on his local school board during a land transfer and how his time in KARL helped him navigate that particular event.
According to Wood, “I don’t know how many times I kept thinking, ‘Ok, how have we talked about this in our conflict resolution? What do you absolutely not want to do, what do you want to do to help the situation or at least not inflame the situation?’”
Learn more about the KARL Program’s impact on Wood by listening to his full story here.
KARL Legendary Rural Leaders: Simone Elder (KARL Class XIV)
According to KARL Class XIV’s Simone Elder (Leoti, KS), this two-year Kansas leadership program provided her with the opportunity to connect her life-long passion for rural communities with further personal and professional development and a network of other changemakers.
"In KARL Class XIV, I met 30 classmates that could have those passions and were doing that kind of work in their local communities," said Elder.
In her work with Network Kansas and most recently the Kansas Sampler Foundation, Simone Elder has made it her mission to help connect likeminded people both within their communities and across the state.
"There is real value in that going out and coming back that is also seen in [Kansas Sampler's] 'Power Ups' and 'Exploring.' It really just gives me chills to think about how it all comes back together," said Elder.
Learn more about the KARL Program’s impact on Elder by listening to her full story here.
KARL Legendary Rural Leaders: Gary Millershaski (KARL Class VIII)
The Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership (KARL) program identifies, prepares, and connects aspiring leaders to spark action that will positively impact Kansas agriculture and rural communities.
KARL Class VIII’s Gary Millershaski (Lakin, KS) discusses how his two-year experience jumpstarted his state and national service within the wheat industry.
Learn more about the KARL Program's impact on Millershaski by listening to his full story here.
KARL Legendary Rural Leaders: Ray Purdy (KARL Founding Board Member)
The Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership (KARL) program identifies, prepares, and connects aspiring leaders to spark action that will positively impact Kansas agriculture and rural communities.
Ray Purdy reflects on the creation of KARL as a way to bring individuals together from around the state of Kansas to expose them to as many different agricultural aspects found in Kansas through this two-year transformative Kansas leadership program.
Purdy points out that the KARL program has continually evolved over the years to expose participants to relevant issues impacting Kansas.
To learn more about the KARL Program, listen to Purdy's full story here.
KARL Legendary Rural Leaders: Trevor McKeeman (KARL Class IX)
The Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership (KARL) program identifies, prepares, and connects aspiring leaders to spark action that will positively impact Kansas agriculture and rural communities.
According to KARL Class IX’s Trevor McKeeman (Manhattan, KS), his two-year experience in this premier Kansas leadership program provided him with knowledge and opportunities that he believes has influenced the development of his technology startup companies.
McKeeman’s reflections emphasize how his KARL experience allowed him to broaden his understanding of how agriculture is connected around the world.
The KARL Program is celebrating 35 years of lasting impact on leaders like McKeeman. KARL empowers leaders to help ensure a bright future for Kansas. Listen to his full story here.
KARL Legendary Rural Leaders: Christy Hopkins (KARL Class X)
The Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership (KARL) program identifies, prepares, and connects aspiring leaders to spark action that will positively impact Kansas agriculture and rural communities.
According to KARL Class X’s Christy Hopkins (Tribune, KS), the two-year KARL experience provided her with a clear understanding that while rural communities have uniquely different personalities and challenges, the ability to work collectively can move rural Kansas forward.
“KARL really helped me to know that it was OK to be passionate about rural Kansas, to be passionate about the things that we can achieve and the ability to move communities forward,” states Hopkins.
Learn more about how the KARL Program has made a lasting impact on Hopkins by listening to her full story here.
KARL Legendary Rural Leaders: Brian Dunn (KARL Class IV)
The Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership (KARL) program identifies, prepares, and connects aspiring leaders to spark action that will positively impact Kansas agriculture and rural communities.
According to KARL Class IV’s Brian Dunn (St, John, KS), the two-year KARL experience provided him with opportunities to meet and interact with passionate people throughout rural Kansas who became resources to lean on while also observing a variety of leadership styles in action.
“I've been through several leadership programs, but there's not many that will even match what's available through the KARL Program,” states Dunn.
Learn more about how the KARL Program has made a lasting impact on Dunn by listening to his full story here.
