The Drew County Farm Bureau and Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation are making sure that recently retired agriculture professors Drs. Bob Stark and Paul Francis, from the University of Arkansas at Monticello, aren’t forgotten.
UAM announced that both organizations have endowed scholarships in the names of the two professors and those scholarships were presented as a surprise at the Drew County Farm Bureau Christmas party.
Stark and Francis retired last year from UA-Monticello’s College of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources after long careers at the campus. Francis spent 33 years teaching agronomy and horticulture subjects, while Stark taught agricultural economics subjects for nearly 25 years.
“Drew County Farm Bureau decided to do something for these two individuals because they had such a role in the Drew County Farm Bureau and UAM,” said Kerry Hartness, Drew County Farm Bureau president. “Half of the current board members are UAM School of Agriculture graduates. We wanted to recognize those two men for their contributions to the community, UAM, and the Drew County Farm Bureau.”
“Stark was a sponsor for the Collegiate Farm Bureau Chapter, where he was involved in recruiting of agriculture students and acknowledging how Farm Bureau works on the political side,” said Drew County Farm Bureau Manager Mike Zieman said.
Zieman said UAM is the most active, noting the number of students who attended the national convention. “Ninety percent of that participation is due to Drs. Francis and Stark,” he said.
Stark said the collegiate chapter was started because the Farm Bureau wanted to establish a connection with students coming right out of high school, and Arkansas was one of the first in the nation to start a chapter.
