Presenting the Jack Kilby Innovation Award to Rachel Parker were Farm Program Division Chief Todd Barrows, left, and FSA State Executive Director Dennis McKinney, right. Courtesy photo.
During a ceremony in September, the Farm Service Agency recognized this year’s Eisenhower Legacy Award winners. Included as an honoree was Osage County’s FSA executive director, Rachel Parker, who was the state winner of the Jack Kilby-Innovation Award.
The Jack Kilby-Innovation Award honors an individual who has made impacting contributions to FSA’s mission and vision with groundbreaking ideas. The employee demonstrates creativity and “out-of-the-box” thinking when faced with challenges. This team member uses creative energy to make the workplace better for the entire team.
The award recognized Parker, Osage County and Coffey County FSA Executive Director, as follows:
“When facing challenges at work, Rachel is a true leader. With a positive attitude, she always looks for enhanced methods to provide innovative processes to both co-workers and producers. She has updated information for CIMS and COC training for easier reference. She goes the extra mile to find, create, and share information that benefits everyone.
“Rachel always goes above and beyond when faced with challenges, whether it is doing more work with less employees or running multiple county offices. She consolidates information, such as the CEDT training timeline, to create a more reliable resource and ensure that important training opportunities are not overlooked and ensures all trainings are scheduled in a timely manner.
“Rachel freely offers suggestions to her supervisor with ways to improve productivity. She led the effort of an experimental District CRP “book club” to study the handbook policies with the intent to help all employees understand the specifics of CRP. She developed a training video, that is used Kansas wide, to train new employees on MIDAS applications. In addition, she served on the CRP cost-share task force, developing new ways to prepare county cost-share dockets.
“Rachel continues to serve as a CEDT trainer for new CEDTs. Rachel selflessly assists as a mentor for new CEDs to include helping fellow CEDs train CRP Program Technicians.
“She is a positive role model in FSA, facing challenges head on and always using her creative talents to foster a more productive environment.”
The Jack Kilby Award recognizes the electrical engineer who invented integrated circuits and microchips, paving the way for digital processing and computers. Kilby grew up in Great Bend, Kan.
The Farm Service Agency awards ceremony was Sept. 28, 2022, at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, Abilene, Kan. The event provided opportunity to celebrate award winners, reflect on the preceding year, and share achievements.
