Connection to Industry: Bob Clements International (BCI)

Over the course of this fall semester, The Center for Professional Personnel Development is connecting Agricultural Education to the industry through webinars. Each webinar will feature a different presentation and presenter. Our goal is to provide educators with resources and knowledge to better serve their students.

Industry
Our featured industry for October is Bob Clements International (BCI). You are probably wondering; what is Bob Clements International? BCI is a training company the works with about 4,500 OPE, Ag, Trailer, Powersport, and Marine dealerships across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Their goal is to implement and improve parts and services processes and profitability. "We often joke that we are the Gordon Ramsey of kitchen nightmares in the dealership. We often go into a dealership and turn a struggling dealership around with a little tough love and some proven processes," - Sara Hey.

Presenter
Our presenter, Sara Hey, wears many hats within the company since they are a small team. Her two main roles in the company are traveling around the world speaking to manufacturers and dealers, and to make sure the programs partnered with BCI are successful. It is worthwhile mentioning that Sara had attended North Park University in Chicago and received a degree in psychology. Her degree has helped her work with their dealers and inside the family business. 

What Sparked Her Interest?
Her parents had started BCI over 30 years ago, so it is safe to say she was born into it. When she began working for BCI, she recently had twins and was passionate about making a paycheck. Her dad gave her the opportunity to work in an inside sales role. Throughout the past eight years, Sara has had the opportunity to explore other areas in the dealership realm. Her daily excitement to work for the company comes from giving hope to dealers that are at the end of their rope. She states, "When we get to come alongside them and help them realize that the way things are, isn’t the way they have to continue to be. This is the reason I do what I do."

Webinar Highlights

• How they decide it’s time to add an additional person in the service department
• How they determine what they can pay their technicians and what their expectations are of their technicians.
• What the products mix in each of the dealerships look like and what that mix means for training.
• What each one of the dealerships wants you to know about what they look for in new employees and the knowledge they have as they come out of school.
• The webinar will be held on Wednesday, October 23rd at 3:30 pm follow the link to participate https://tinyurl.com/AgEquipmentWebinar

Luke Kerstetter

2020 Agriculture Teacher Candidate

Twitter Handle: @Luke_Kerstetter

October 2019 Student of the Month: Justin Kurtz (@justin_kurtz_)

Each month a student is recognized within the Agricultural and Extension Education program as Student of the Month for their hard work and dedication to their education, major, and passions. This October, sophomore Mr. Justin Kurtz has been selected as Student of the Month for his outstanding accomplishments inside and outside of the classroom.

 Justin grew up in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania where his experience working on farms with his stepfather in the area gave him a background in agriculture and encouraged him to pursue a degree in the Agricultural Sciences. While he was at first interested in Plant Science, his experience in agricultural education at State College Area High School led him to become a part of the Agricultural and Extension Education program at The Pennsylvania State University. On campus, Justin is an active member of LEAD Society and serves on the executive board for Ag Student Council. Off campus, he continues to grow and supplement his faith at Cedar Heights church. When asked about what he likes most about the University Park campus he responded, "all my friends are here and we have PHENOMENAL faculty and staff in the Agricultural and Extension Education department".

In the future, Justin's career goal is to teach agriculture. While he believes that most people feel motivated by their own agricultural educators to pursue a career in Agricultural and Extension Education, and agrees this is part of his motivation to teach agriculture, he is mostly motivated to "facilitate the development of youth through agricultural education, just as it has done for me".


Some more about Justin includes:

Birthday: April 3rd, 1999
Favorite food: "Mashed taters for the win".
Favorite PSU Class: HORT 150N (Plants in Society) with Dr. Decoteau and Dr. Hoover
Favorite Hangout on Campus: Ferguson 115
Favorite Place to Eat in State College: The Waffle Shop
Favorite Quote: "It is well with my soul".
4H/FFA Background: Justin was active in the State College Little Lions FFA chapter, served as a State Officer from 2017-2018, and has been chosen to represent the state of Pennsylvania at the 92nd National FFA Convention and Expo as the National Officer Candidate.

Congratulations again to Justin for being selected as the 2019 October Student of Month. His humor, compassion, and genuine personality will continue to serve him as he finishes his degree and runs to be a National Officer for the National FFA Organization.

Taylor Halbleib

Agricultural and Extension Education

Class of 2022

2019 Student Leader Scholarship Recipients

From the 1620 teachings of Squanto to the English settlers to the establishment of the Smith-Hughes Act in 1917, agricultural education revolved primarily around teaching students how to grow and harvest food. Today however, agricultural education's focus has shifted from cultivating knowledgeable farmers and ranchers to developing strong leaders in all fields of agriculture including mechanics, science, medicine, and marketing capable of overcoming the impending challenges of the industry. In recognition of this shift, the Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Dairymen's Association come together to award the Student Leader Scholarship.

Every year, ten undergraduate students who have plans to pursue a career related to the dairy industry in the future are selected to receive the Student Leadership Scholarship for their outstanding accomplishments in their respective academic programs. This $3,000 scholarship provides recognition, encouragement, and financial support for these future leaders of the industry. This year two outstanding students enrolled in the Agricultural and Extension Education program at The Pennsylvania State University were awarded this scholarship.

Nicole Guise is a junior majoring in Agricultural and Extension Education at The Pennsylvania State University. She grew up in Spring Grove and got her start in the dairy industry on Buttonwood Farms and Bentz Hollow Farms which her family owns and operates. Nicole served as both the York Dairy Princess and State Dairy Princess which she believes allowed her to "give consumers a more personal relationship with the dairy industry". She is passionate about advocating for agriculture, interned with the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, and hopes to become an agricultural educator in the future to combine her two passions of dairy farming and teaching others. While Nicole may not be working full-time on her family's dairy farm in the future, she hopes to use her career as an agricultural educator to spotlight the dairy industry through student competitions, curriculum, and opportunities and develop students into informed consumers. One of Nicole's favorite aspects of the Agricultural and Extension Education program at Penn State is the travel opportunities that the program offers. In reference to these opportunities, Nicole explained, "I think the program does a good job of showing students just how diverse agriculture is". Nicole plans to use the Student Leader Scholarship towards her tuition costs.

Thomas Gabel of Newport, Pennsylvania is a sophomore studying Agricultural and Extension Education at The Pennsylvania State University. Growing up on his parents dairy farm, Thomas helped to milk, feed, and manage the cows.  He hopes to continue to advocate for the dairy industry in the classroom as an agricultural educator in the future and develop an innovative agricultural education program that will allow his students to make connections to the dairy industry. Thomas wishes to teach agriculture "to have an exponential impact on students, communities, and the world". He believes that by investing in students, we are able to make a positive impact on them which they will in turn pass on to others. "I want to empower students and help them to develop their passions and find a future career path for them". Thomas's favorite aspect of the Agricultural and Extension Education program at Penn State is that it feels like family. He believes that this atmosphere has allowed him to forge lasting relationships with his peers and the faculty in the program. "No matter who you are interacting with in the program, they are there to support you". Thomas is grateful for the Student Leadership Scholarship and plans to use it to continue to pursue his degree and advocate for the dairy industry.

Congratulations again to Nicole and Thomas and the rest of the scholarship winners for being strong leaders in the Agricultural and Extension Education program and for being awarded the Student Leader Scholarship.  Click here to learn more about the 2020 Student Leader Scholarship. 

Taylor Halbleib

Student Blogger

Agricultural and Extension Education

Class of 2022