North Dakota State University Extension recognized several individuals and teams for their work in the past year at the 2025 Extension Spring Conference, held April 8-10.

This year’s awards and recipients were the following:

• Communicator of the Year – Julie Garden-Robinson, Extension food and nutrition specialist, Department of Health, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences
• Epsilon Sigma Phi Distinguished Service Award – Lynette Flage, NDSU Extension associate director
• Epsilon Sigma Phi Administrative Leadership Award – Carrie Johnson, assistant director, Extension Family and Community Wellness program leader
• Epsilon Sigma Phi Visionary Leadership Award – Meagan Hoffman, 4-H youth development specialist
• Epsilon Sigma Phi Early-Career Service Award – Dustin Hammond, Extension agent, Family and Community Wellness
• Epsilon Sigma Phi Mid-Career Service Award – Patrick Beauzay, research specialist, Extension entomology program
• Epsilon Sigma Phi State Meritorious Support Staff Award – Jane Hayen, administrative assistant, Cavalier County
• Program Excellence Award – NDSU Extension Horse Management Webinars and Field to Fork: A Multidisciplinary Program with Impacts

Additionally, recipients of the 2024 Epsilon Sigma Phi awards were recognized. A recap of all awards given at the ceremony can be found at ndsu.ag/springawards25.

The 2025 Communicator of the Year is Julie Garden-Robinson, NDSU Extension food and nutrition specialist and professor in the Department of Health, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences. Garden-Robinson’s research and information about nutrition, food safety and related health and wellness topics reaches a nationwide audience through her communication efforts.

The North Dakota chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi, a national association for Extension professionals, recognizes those dedicated to fostering standards of excellence in the Extension system and developing the Extension professional.

The 2025 Distinguished Service Award is presented to Lynette Flage, associate director of NDSU Extension. She has served in a variety of roles with NDSU Extension for over 30 years, including serving as an Extension agent in Grand Forks and Pembina counties, information technology specialist, community leadership specialist, district director, director and specialist with the Center for Community Vitality, Extension assistant director and program leader for the family and community wellness program.

The 2025 Administrative Leadership Award recipient is Carrie Johnson, in recognition of her leadership, organizational skills, dedication to professional development and support of Family and Community Wellness programs.

The 2025 Visionary Leadership Award is presented to Meagan Hoffman, associate professor and 4-H youth development specialist. Since joining NDSU Extension in 2016, Hoffman has led initiatives in youth development, particularly through her leadership in designing programs that foster leadership, career readiness and resilience in youth.

The 2025 Early-Career Service Award recipient is Dustin Hammond, family and community wellness agent for Logan and McIntosh counties. Hammond joined NDSU Extension in July 2022 and is recognized for his teaching and programming.

The 2025 Mid-Career Service Award is presented to Patrick Beauzay, a research specialist in NDSU Extension’s entomology program. Beauzay has supported many Extension projects throughout his 17-year Extension career, including the wheat midge soil survey, field crop insect surveys, insecticide efficacy testing and resistance screening.

The 2025 State Meritorious Support Service Award is presented to Jane Hayen, administrative assistant in Cavalier County. Hayen was recognized for her 19 years working in the Cavalier County office. She organizes the Cavalier County Crop Improvement Association seed increase program, pesticide certification trainings, Cavalier County Township Officers Association meetings and 4-H archery trainings.

The NDSU Extension Program Excellence awards honor teams for excellence in Extension programming. The Program Excellence award is sponsored by NDSU’s Joint Council of Extension Professionals.

The horse management webinars ran from 2020 to 2024 and consisted of 23 webinars. Participants reported changing their grazing rotations and using electric fencing, as the webinars promoted. Participants also said education on hay quality, individual grain rotations, and weed identification and elimination has improved the health of their horses and land.

The Field to Fork webinar series has been running yearly for the past decade. In 2023-2024, the focus was on food safety and preservation. Over 1,700 participants watched the live webinar and another 4,000 watched the recordings.

*Photos of all spring conference award honorees are located at bit.ly/NDSU-yearsofservice25.

NDSU Agriculture Communication – April 25, 2025

Source: Lynette Flage, 701-231-7782, lynette.flage@ndsu.edu

Editor: Dominic Erickson, 701-231-5546, dominic.erickson@ndsu.edu