Illinois Leadership Council for Agricultural Education
Promote education in and about agriculture.
Address the changing needs of agricultural education
to strengthen its viability and competitiveness to serve industry.
Develop investment opportunities involving human and financial capital
for the benefit of all groups having interest in agricultural education.
November 12, 2015
Kraft Foods, Champaign, Illinois
In attendance:
Luke Allen
Andrew Bowman
Mindy Bunselmeyer
Jake Butcher
Dave Cattron
A.J. Clapp
Dean Dittmar
John Edgar
Doug Hanson
Kenny Hartman
Harley Hepner
Karen Jones
Debra Korte
Krista Lottinville
Mindy McDermott
Vern McGinnis
Bill Million
Alison Myers
Kathy Novotney
Jeff Redmon
Amy Rochkes
Becky Ropp
Jay Runner
Jess Smithers
Jennifer Waters
Kaitlin Weitekamp
The meeting was called to order at 9:10 a.m. by Chairman Bowman.
Those presented provided brief introductions, along with a welcome from Kraft representatives.
The agenda was reviewed, along with the minutes of the last meeting. Jake Butcher approved and Vern
McGinnis seconded the minutes.
The nominating committee consisting of Chairman Bowman and Dave Cattron presented their
recommendations. Cattron assumed the chair for election of officers. Current chairman Bowman, vice
chair Alison Myers, and secretary Karen Jones were white balloted to those positions, approved by
Cattron and seconded by Butcher.
Bowman resumed the chair for the approval of new committee members, appointed to a three-year
term. New members were approved by McGinnis and seconded by Becky Ropp.
They are:
A.J. Clapp, Tate & Lyle
Whit Dhamer, Potash Corp
Langdon Frye, Granular Company
Kenny Hartman, Farmer/Illinois Corn Growers
Krista Lottinville, Burrus Seed
Mindy McDermott, Monsanto
Jeff Redmon, Caterpillar
The resignation of Michael Burns (moved to Kansas) and Mike Massie (focusing more on international
efforts) was tendered and approved by Ropp and seconded by Kaitlin Weitekamp.
To secure the future of agriculture in Illinois through the continual advancement of quality agriculture education
Illinois Leadership Council for Agricultural Education
Promote education in and about agriculture.
Address the changing needs of agricultural education
to strengthen its viability and competitiveness to serve industry.
Develop investment opportunities involving human and financial capital
for the benefit of all groups having interest in agricultural education.
The Plan
Doug Hanson led a discussion on the updates to “The Plan.”
Luke Allen and Dean Dittmar have been instrumental in making progress on the updates. The new plan
will be divided into age-based sections and each section will follow the same pattern, making it easier to
understand as a whole. These changes are adding to the time spent on the update as they are requiring
a total overhaul of the format; however, the finished product will be much easier to understand and
use.
New sections are being added: Workforce skill and talent development and Public awareness. Ag
research has been added to the teacher training section.
A draft copy will be finished by December 15 and distributed to ILCAE members for review. Feedback
should be sent to Hanson by January 5, 2016. The intention is to have a final copy to approve at the
January meeting. Dittmar recommended that all council members read the plan in its entirety to
become familiar with the contents and be able to accomplish our goals of moving agricultural education
forward.
Legislative Advocacy
Butcher and Bowman provided an update on the legislative advocacy proposal.
Butcher’s firm has signed a contract with IAVAT to represent ag education, because IAVAT has the
authority to lobby. Jesse Faber is the IAVAT point person and he will work with ILCAE, FCAE, and the
agriculture teachers to formalize the strategy going forward.
Butcher reported Bill Cunningham’s appointment as Illinois senate agriculture committee chairperson
should be a good thing for us.
Butcher is working to draft a bill on our behalf by Thanksgiving, which will be sent to the council for
review with a bulleted memo to help understanding. Changes at CHSAS will be a good start and will
catch the attention of Chicago legislators. Teacher repayment is another issue. Feedback from the group
seems to agree that a years of service requirement before student loans are forgiven should be in place.
Retention is also an issue.
We need to do better at staying in touch with teachers who have left the classroom for industry, as they
could become a great bridge and resource to help us reach our goals.
Jess Smithers shared data about ag ed graduates, which are increasing. About half of current vacancies
are teachers leaving the profession entirely.
To secure the future of agriculture in Illinois through the continual advancement of quality agriculture education
Illinois Leadership Council for Agricultural Education
Promote education in and about agriculture.
Address the changing needs of agricultural education
to strengthen its viability and competitiveness to serve industry.
Develop investment opportunities involving human and financial capital
for the benefit of all groups having interest in agricultural education.
Discussion was held around incentives to encourage people to choose ag ed and stick with a teaching
career. Ideas such as loan repayment in stages, continuing education, and rewards for excellence were
brought up. The incentive funding grant was discussed as a checklist of everything possible but should
not be held against a teacher if they cannot do it all.
A potential funding source from the E-10 incentive was discussed. Kenny Hartman said there is about
$200 million available that would be nice if it could go to ag ed and Extension.
Butcher sees several options but a public-private partnership seems the most logical. This would create
an endowment where money can be given to the state for a specific purpose and then can become a tax
write-off for the donor. He will also explore various bills to determine the best funding mechanism,
probably a tax incentive for businesses to support ag education.
A conference call was scheduled for Tuesday, December 15 at 10:00 a.m. to discuss progress on this
issue. More details will follow.
Business Engagement
Silveus Financial, based in Indiana but with a Chicago office, will be sponsoring the state Agribusiness
CDE and provide software and training for teachers and schools participating. Mindy Bunselmeyer
reviewed a document provided by Silveus with other ways they would like to help sponsor programs.
She will be setting up a timeline to get resources out to teachers.
Kaitlin Weitekamp said businesses want to partner both financially and with human capital. She is
working with key stakeholders to create a portfolio to take to interested businesses to start the
discussion.
Affiliate Reports
4-H/Bill Million: Looking for ways to engage metro youth in the 4-H program. 4-H is about skills like
communication, goal setting, leadership, teamwork, and project mastery, not only agriculture. Would
like help in identifying businesses to work with county level staff and local clubs on areas of mutual
interest.
FCAE/Jess Smithers: Working to emphasize teacher professional development – recently held a welding
workshop at Midwest Tech in East Peoria. Other opportunities have been provided by Briggs and
Stratton on small engines. Continuing to focus on curriculum and teacher recruitment/retention. Would
like to see businesses offer to host section teacher meetings and offer judges for student events to allow
real experts to interact with students, as well as financial support to local programs.
To secure the future of agriculture in Illinois through the continual advancement of quality agriculture education
Illinois Leadership Council for Agricultural Education
Promote education in and about agriculture.
Address the changing needs of agricultural education
to strengthen its viability and competitiveness to serve industry.
Develop investment opportunities involving human and financial capital
for the benefit of all groups having interest in agricultural education.
Kevin Larson will come on board January 1 as District 1 FCAE advisor. A new annual report and one-page
fact sheet are available and handed out at the meeting.
Kathy Novotney reported on the Elite Conference – more than 60 students attended this one day event
to reach potential future ag teachers. Had a large waiting list and historically four students from the
event have gone on to become ag teachers.
FFA/IAVAT/Mindy Bunselmeyer: Mindy shared a spreadsheet created by Al Zwilling that shows how
Foundation dollars are allocated. Would be a great tool to show potential business sponsors the various
ways they can be involved. She will share with the group to possibly use the model for our interactions
with business.
In the process of putting together the state calendar for 2016/17 and will share at the next meeting.
ICAE/Vern McGinnis: Gave a brief background of ICAE for new members. Don Norton with the Illinois Ag
Leadership Program has joined ICAE. Kay Shipman has stepped down and McGinnis and Bowman will
determine an appropriate replacement to ask.
ICAE is working with the new state board of education leadership, hoping to continue the positive
support we’ve had the last few years. ICAE was to meet on November 13 to appoint committees for
2016.
ISBE/Harley Hepner: State is still in budget conversations. Agency dollars have been appropriated along
with federal funds, which means grants are functioning. FY17 budget hearings are currently taking place
even though there is no FY16 budget.
Licensure changes made it a little easier for out of state teachers to become certified in Illinois.
The agency is experiencing some more personnel changes and is short staffed in a few areas.
The January meeting date has not yet been set but will include a backup date in case of inclement
weather. Considering approaching Tyson to host the group.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:05 p.m. by Cattron, seconded by Ropp.
Thank you to Kraft for the warm welcome, tour, and mac & cheese tasting!
To secure the future of agriculture in Illinois through the continual advancement of quality agriculture education
Illinois Leadership Council for Agricultural Education
Promote education in and about agriculture.
Address the changing needs of agricultural education
to strengthen its viability and competitiveness to serve industry.
Develop investment opportunities involving human and financial capital
for the benefit of all groups having interest in agricultural education.
Contact information for Kraft:
John Smith
217-378-2550
John.smith2@kraftheinzcompany.com
Tonya Hutchison (John Smith’s assistant)
217-378-2057
Tonya.hutchison@kraftheinzcompany.com
To secure the future of agriculture in Illinois through the continual advancement of quality agriculture education