Dr. Allen Blezek provided visionary and significant leadership for numerous organizations and effectively raised funds for various causes, especially The Leadership Center at Aurora and the Nebraska LEAD Program. His extensive travel throughout Nebraska working with public schools, agriculture producers and agribusiness representatives resulted in his raising substantial funding and also in his recruiting individuals to serve in key leadership roles on volunteer boards.
It is a distinct privilege for me to present this tribute to Dr. Allen G. Blezek in recognition of his being elected as a 2012 Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement Honoree. His significant contributions to the University of Nebraska, the State of Nebraska and to our future make him an extremely deserving candidate for this Award. Allen and I joined the faculty in the University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at about the same time, so I had the privilege to personally observe the positive impacts of his distinguished career over a period that exceeded 30 years. This is truly a special night for me because my association with Dr. Roger Mandigo extends back even further to his graduate student days in the 1960's at Oklahoma State University, and our paths again intersected in 1975 when we moved to Nebraska to join the faculty in the UNL Department of Animal Science where Roger was a faculty member in Meat Science.
For those of us who ever served in a managerial position, or as a University administrator, will readily admit that one of our greatest hope is for the members of our team to accomplish great things and that their achievements will be so impressive that we will also look good! Well, I can tell you without any reservation that the two individuals we are honoring tonight would make any organization look GREAT! I consider myself to be very fortunate to have been a member of the same organization as Allen Blezek and Roger Mandigo, our two 2012 Honorees, because their outstanding contributions made those of us associated with the University look good and we are extremely proud of their outstanding accomplishments.
Now, let me share a few highlights regarding Dr. Allen Blezek's impressive career. Allen was raised on his parent's grain and livestock family farm near Randolph, Iowa. Following his graduation from the Fremont-Mills Community High School, he attended Iowa Western Community College at Clarinda, Iowa. He then ventured across the Missouri River to attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he earned his B.S. degree in Agricultural Education. Following his graduation from UNL, he launched his distinguished teaching career in Hamburg, Iowa where he taught Vocational Agriculture for six years before returning to Nebraska to purse graduate studies and to earn his M.S. and PhD degrees at UNL.
After completing his PhD degree, Allen served three years as the Career Education Coordinator for Lincoln Public Schools and then joined the faculty in the UNL Department of Agricultural Education as an Assistant Professor in 1976. His impressive teaching, leadership and administrative abilities were distinctly demonstrated, and he rapidly advanced through the academic ranks and in 1984 was selected as the Executive Director to head up the newly established, but struggling, Nebraska LEAD (Leadership Education/Action Development) Program and he held that position until his retirement in 2007.
During my tenure as the IANR Vice Chancellor, we were fortunate to convince Allen to take on the added responsibilities of serving as the Interim Head of the Agricultural Education Department and then for him to assume that position on a permanent basis while continuing to head up the Nebraska LEAD Program. During that period, he was also instrumental in creating the UNL Center for Leadership Development and became its founding Director. Because of his passion for developing leadership skills in young people, the Department's mission was broadened to place more emphasis on leadership development and the name of the Department of Agricultural Education was changed under his guidance to the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication (which today is commonly referred to as the ALEC Department) to more accurately reflect the expanded scope of the Department's mission.
Dr. Blezek's distinguished career earned him the reputation of being an outstanding educator who touched the lives of a great number of individuals throughout our state and the nation. Among his peers he was internationally recognized as the "Dean of Agricultural Leadership Development Programs" as a result of his visionary and innovated leadership in serving as the Director of the Nebraska LEAD Program for nearly 25 years. Over the years, many states initiated similar leadership development programs building on the Nebraska model. Consequently, today we have hundreds of agriculture and agribusiness leaders throughout Nebraska and the United States who graduated from these programs and are positively impacting our future by their effectively serving local, state and national organizations, as well as their serving in a wide-range of influential political positions. As a result of Dr. Blezek leading numerous national and international delegations and his participating in international programs in over 100 countries, many of Nebraska's current agriculture and agribusiness leaders possess a better understanding of Nebraska's role in our global economy.
During his career, Dr. Blezek provided visionary and significant leadership for numerous organizations such as: The Nebraska Agricultural Leadership Council, Inc.; the Nebraska Vocational Agricultural Foundation; the Nebraska FFA Foundation; the UNL Faculty Senate; the Nebraska Rural Radio Foundation; and the Lincoln Northeast Rotary Club. This past semester he was also elected to be the incoming President of the UNL Emeriti Association.
Allen is also well recognized for his successful fund-raising abilities for various causes. Perhaps most noteworthy among those would be the Nebraska LEAD Program and the Leadership Center at Aurora. Many of you are aware that one wing of the Aurora Leadership Center Complex was named BLEZEK HALL in recognition of his impressive fund-raising endeavors for that Center. His extensive travel throughout Nebraska working with public schools, agriculture producers and agribusiness representatives also resulted in his raising substantial funds for other entities in addition to his recruiting individuals to serve in key leadership roles on numerous volunteer boards.
As you would expect, Dr. Blezek has received numerous honors in recognition of his significant contributions. In fact, this past Monday evening he was awarded the Omaha Agri-Business Club's 2012 Service to Agriculture Award. Some of the significant other honors he previously received include: the Nebraska AgRelations Council Exemplary Service to Nebraska Agriculture Award; the University of Nebraska Distinguished Teaching Award; the Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation Silver Eagle Award; the KRVN Service to Agriculture Award; the Nebraska Bankers Association Outstanding Contributions to Agriculture/ Agribusiness Award; the AK SAR-BEN Agricultural Achievement Award; and the National FFA Honorary American Farmer Degree.
Allen and his wife, Kay, reside in Lincoln, where they both continue to be very active in community, University and state-wide organizations. Based on his commitment and contributions to the field of leadership development, to the University of Nebraska, and to our society in general, it is an honor to present this tribute to Dr. Allen G. Blezek. Congratulations, Allen, on being selected as a Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement Honoree for 2012.
