Commitment: the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause or activity.

As a member of a Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department for eight years, Dave Craighton is committed to serving his community. He volunteers his time and offers his skills to help the Dows Fire & Rescue Team serve rural Franklin County Iowa.

Dave had held several positions, including Hose Captain and Deputy Chief. He’s currently serving a Training Officer, so he leads monthly training seminars to teaches the 24 members of the Dows Fire & Rescue Team. Recent training topics have included how to  cut into a car, handle hoses and a operate water pumps.

“We build comradery through our team, and they’re like another big family. They’re with you through the ups and downs,” says Dave. “All in all, you know you have a support team behind you.”

Dave enjoys volunteering on Fire & Rescue Team and says it feels good to give back to his community. 12 years ago, one of Dave’s family members passed away in a tragic work accident. That situation changed his life.

“I never want to go out on a call. But once my job is done and I look back at what happened, I think about what our team did to help someone else. It’s a good feeling.”

This example of community service was followed by Dave’s son Derrick, who enlisted in the National Guard after graduating from high school in 2007. After serving in Afghanistan, Derrick returned stateside went to Ellsworth College and got his Criminal Justice Degree and worked at Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds for 2+ years until his finance’s job led them to Iowa City.

We appreciate knowing there are trained emergency crew members on site in Alexander. As a member of Latham Seeds’ Research Team for the past six years, Dave plays an important role in planting, maintaining and harvesting plots across our six-state marketing territory. He also processes soybean results and provides information that’s vital in selecting products for the Latham® product lineup.

Dave is an inspiration to others in the workplace and  in his community. Hats off to people like Dave, who work everyday to keep rural communities safe!

We’d love to shine a spotlight on volunteer emergency crews in your local communities, as well as on those from rural areas who serve in the U.S. military. Feel free to call our office or send an email to MarketingTeam@LathamSeeds.com.

___

Rural communities are the backbone of our country. Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds recognizes and appreciates the many boots our employees, dealers and customers wear to keep rural America healthy. Help us serve those who serve us by nominating someone in your life to feature on https://www.lathamseeds.com and social media channels.

Farming is a tradition many young farmers learn from generations before them. For the Schmitt family, their passion for giving back is another learned tradition.

Greg and Alicia Schmitt are young pig farmers from Nora Springs in northern Iowa. The couple met in high school over shared love of livestock at the county fair. After leaving North Iowa to pursue degrees in agriculture at Iowa State University, it was a career in livestock production that enabled them to move back home after college.

Growing up, Greg helped his father on their hog operation. It was no surprise those early lessons propelled Greg into an opportunity of his own partnering with a local farmer to repair a set of hog barns and go into business finishing pigs. The Schmitt’s are proud of the high quality pork they provide and enjoy any opportunity to share a plate of smoked pork loin with friends.

With their business underway and a growing family, the Schmitt’s found themselves wondering how they could pay forward all the blessings they’d received. The answer arrived during a block party hosted by one of their neighbors when a friend encouraged Greg to consider joining the Nora Springs Fire Department. As fate would have it, Greg decided to drop by the fire station about a month later and it just happened to be the night they were interviewing for new positions.

While pig farming was a tradition Greg learned from his father, Alicia is proud of her family history in fire and rescue. Her step-father Rod is both a farmer and a firefighter. He served as chief of the Colwell, IA fire department for a number of years. Her sister Kelby is also completing fire training. Alicia enjoys her role in the Nora Springs Fire Wives group organizing fundraisers for the fire company and coordinating outreach events.

Whether it’s high-quality pork or volunteering, for the Schmitt family it’s about serving people. The exciting thing is that Alicia and Greg aren’t alone in their passion for serving community. A large percentage of rural volunteer fire companies are comprised of local farmers. “The schedule works out well, says Greg, “I spend most of my days at the farm caring for pigs. The flexible hours allow me to respond to fire calls during hours when those who work office-related jobs aren’t able to be on call.”

While I pray I never have to make “that call”, a big thank you Greg and Alicia for giving of your time to keep our community safe.

“Paging all units… we have a two-car collision 1 mile south of the Crawfordsville, Iowa, exit on Highway 218.”

When an emergency call comes across scanners in rural Southeast Iowa, responders from Emergency Services of Washington County rush to the scene as quickly as possible. Even in the fastest effort, it takes approximately 20 minutes for the closest ambulance to arrive on the scene.

Time is crucial for accident victims in any situation. Who will take care of them until help arrives? The answer is the Crawfordsville QRS (Quick Response Service), or Dave and Tammy Erwin.

My parents, Dave and Tammy, were asked to join the QRS shortly after they were married and moved to Crawfordsville. A family friend asked them to join the squad because they needed to recruit younger community members to increase the longevity of the program. My parents completed their training in the winter of 1991 and have been serving the Crawfordsville community for the past 27 years.

“We decided to become part of the program to serve our community. The numbers were down at the time, and we knew we could help. If our family member was in an accident, I would want QRS to be there to help them and so we will be there for other people and families,” says my mom, Tammy.

The Crawfordsville QRS is a smaller squad with 10 members, but all 270 of the town’s citizens greatly appreciate their work.

Most of the time, when my parents respond to a call, the victim is someone they know. This can sometimes make it a difficult task, but they are proud to help their friends in their time of need. In a smaller town, you may expect the severity of the accidents to be less but that is not the case in Crawfordsville.

“With a heavily traveled interstate running right by our town, we get a lot of calls for traffic accidents. We have helped with semi-rollovers, winter driving pileups, farming accidents and many more over the years of being first responders,” my dad explains.

My dad, Dave, is a farmer. He runs our family’s corn and soybean operation, as well as beef cow-calf herd located just east of Crawfordsville. This gives him the flexibility to help with the first responder calls during the work day. My mom works as a family practice nurse at Washington County Hospitals and Clinics in Washington. She also helps my dad farm in her spare time.

“While my job directly relates to the field, you don’t have to be a medical professional to be a first responder,” she explains. “You just have to perform basic procedures, which you’re train you to do, until medical help arrives. I would encourage others to volunteer in their communities.”

When I was growing up, I didn’t really think much of it when my parents would rush from the house to a First Responder Call. I assumed that most other parents did the same in their communities. Now that I have grown up and see the need for these services in rural Iowa, I realize that my parents are one of many hometown heroes among us!

___

Rural communities are the backbone of our country. Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds recognizes and appreciates the many boots our employees, dealers and customers wear to keep rural America healthy. Help us serve those who serve us by nominating someone in your life to feature on https://www.lathamseeds.com and social media channels.

When Corey Catt was a child, he was injured farming accident. That accident changed his life and the lives of many others.

“I will never forget the overwhelming feeling of relief when I saw the strong will of the volunteer ambulance members who took time out of their busy day, from their regular day jobs,  to help me. Their amazing service sticks with me today as I hope to do the same thing in return by helping those in need,” says Corey Catt, who is an inspiring example of giving back through finding purpose in life and satisfaction in his career.

Corey is in his 25^th year as a volunteer paramedic with the Ellsworth (Wisconsin) Ambulance Service. He also has worked part-time as a paramedic in the emergency room at a Regions Hospital Level 1 Trauma Center in St. Paul, Minn., for 11 years. In May, he will celebrate his sixth year as forage products specialist for Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds.

One might wonder how his roles complement each other. As a 911 paramedic, Corey has seen first-hand how nutrition is closely related to human health. As one of the seed industry’s most renowned forage specialists, he helps farmers strike that delicate balance between nature, science and technology. He is passionate about helping farmers produce healthy meat, milk and eggs. It all about people, That’s why he’s spent his career working as both a paramedic and as a forage specialist.

It’s extremely unusual to have a paramedic service in rural communities – especially an advanced life support unit – says Corey. His dream is for every rural community at a minimum, to train its residents in the very simple and basic adult hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification class. Ideally, this would increase the number of people throughout all communities who have the skills necessary to keep someone alive until advanced help can arrive at the scene.

“Science has proven that immediate hands-only CPR on an adult cardiac arrest patient gives that person the best chance of survival. The American Heart Association refers to this as the chain of survival,” says Corey. “Time is so critical after a cardiac arrest. When the heart is not pumping, the brain is not getting oxygen and is dying.  Without any CPR within four minutes of arrest, the chance of your friend or loved one surviving is very low.”

It can take more than four minutes for ambulance to reach the patient in rural areas. If there is a snow storm or bad weather, it will take emergency crews even longer. That’s why residents who know CPR can increase someone’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest.

“I have learned over the years that sometimes you can do more harm by NOT helping someone in need, such as someone having a cardiac arrest. Equipping community members with simple CPR skills can be enough to save a life,” says Corey. “If someone needs CPR and you don’t help them, at a least pray for them. Without you, their chances of survival are slim.”

How You Can Help Your Community

“There is a retired paramedic in a nearby community who was part of a group that started a local hands-only CPR Class. His passion shifted down to his son, who continued expanding his father’s initiative of teaching the simple skills of CPR. One day that retired paramedic was in the gym and had a cardiac arrest in the gym. The gentleman who saved his life was trained in his son’s class the day before! This man’s life was not only changed but saved.”

Corey explains that 4-H clubs, FFA chapters, as well as Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, are a great place the start. The individuals involved with these groups are the next generation of agriculturists and rural residents.  Corey challenges civic groups to team up, so together they can start a community initiative to get more people trained.

Here is what one community has done for hands-only CPR. Some communities have done demo’s at half time basketball games for the whole gym, but at the end of the day, when you see a teen or adult go unconscious, and you can’t wake them up, it takes COURAGE to act.  It’s going to be scary.

https://www.hastingsstargazette.com/lifestyle/health/1105476-hhs-students-get-training-hands-only-cpr

“At a minimum, learn hands-only CPR.  It’s quick, simple and easy to learn.  It’s something that could be done every year on farms, in grocery stores and in the gym. You can become part of the chain of survival!” urges Corey.

“It’s impossible to articulate the depths and layers of intensity in the situations people like me experience every single day,” adds Corey, “There’s no doubt it’s a tough profession. I have seen a lot of death and tragedy. You can’t un-see these situations, so I focus on the positive. At the end of the day, it’s about serving people. I’m part of an amazing team that help people navigate through their life-changing event. I feel humbled and honored to somehow serve and help where I can.  Not matter what we do, we can all help by knowing hands-only CPR and promoting how this could save a life someday.”

Related Articles:

• Keep the Beat to Stay Alive
• Error on the Side of Caution during Planting Season
• Stay Safe in the Home Stretch

Returning to her hometown as a teacher was an honor and privilege but also a bit intimidating, says Lindsey (Brown) Brockberg. She attended Mt. Lake from daycare through high school graduation and returned in 2012-2013 to teach agricultural education and serve as the Mt. Lake FFA advisor.

“It’s such a privilege to have the opportunity to work with my former ag teacher, Tom Appel, who made such a huge impact on me. He helped me learn to believe in myself. Through ag classes and FFA activities, I learned to overcome my challenges, work through my weaknesses, and improve my strengths,” says Lindsey, who served as Officer at Large and Vice President from 2004-2006 as a member of Mt. Lake FFA.” Agriculture classes and the FFA offered me – and still offers students still today – so many opportunities to grow and learn.”

Not only did Mr. Appel encourage Lindsey to consider a career in agricultural education, but her brother (T.J. Brown) also is an agriculture teacher and encouraged her to also think about teaching ag. It wasn’t until Lindsey had been studying Message Therapy for six months at Ridgewater College that she realized how much she missed agriculture.

“Both Appel and my brother were – and still are – great resources in this teaching adventures,” says Mrs. Brockberg. “Helping students reach their full potential is what I enjoy most about being a teacher. It never gets old seeing students comprehend a lesson we’ve been working on, go out of their comfort zone by competing in a CDE (career development event), meeting new people and reaching goals they set at the beginning of the year.”

Changing lives and preparing members for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education are benefits of belonging to the largest student organization in the world. Attending National FFA Convention during her freshman year was a life-changing event, recalls Mrs. Brockberg.

“I remember sitting in Freedom Hall at the Louisville State Fair grounds, surrounded by thousands of other FFA members from across the U.S., listening to the keynote speaker,” she says. “After this convention, I made up my mind to not let anything stop me. School was challenging for me and up until 8^th grade, I been in special ed classes for English. I learned to work with my learning challenges, put in more time, planned further ahead, became very organized and started going from B-C’s to A-B’s, even with missing school for FFA.”

“My parents instilled in us that we needed to work hard, manage time, learn from others and manage money. By being active in the Mt. Lake FFA, my five siblings and I learned those life skills,” says Mrs. Brockberg. “My main Career Development Event (CDE) was General Livestock, but I also participated in Food Science. My Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) was Food Production Placement. I worked in the dietary department at the Good Samaritan Village in Mt. Lake, along with my older sister, all through high school and a few years in college.”

Mrs. Brockberg says she was a bit of a “greenhand” when she accepted the teaching position at Mt. Lake. She only had two years of teaching experience at the time, but she was excited to return to her hometown.

“I felt a little intimidated to be teaching with my former teachers, as well as teaching students of families I had known most of my life,” says Mrs. Brockberg. “Once I got into the job, however, I realized that Jeff Lindamen did a wonderful job of mentoring me through the challenges of first years of teaching. The experience I had working with him at Chisago Lakes High School in Lindstrom, Minnesota, really prepared me for the task ahead at Mt. Lake.”

The Mt. Lake FFA is also advised by Stephen Funk, and Hayley Faber. The three instructors work hard to meet the needs of our students. Several teams have already competed in the region and are advancing to state.

“As a program, we are very busy and active with our local community, region, state, and national levels. Our students have competed at all levels,” says Mrs. Brockberg. “We do our best to give students opportunities that meet their needs and stretch them to grow and lead others.”

Below are a few recent examples of how the Mt. Lake FFA advisors are helping students “learn to do and do to learn:”

• 2017 National Convention – one student made it in the Top 15 and another student made national choir, and one student received their American Degree
• 2017 State Convention – seven teams finished in the Top 5 at state
• 2016 National Convention – we had both Vet Science and Farm Business Management teams make it to Nationals, along with two students in National Choir, and two students received the American degree

Mrs. Brockberg is helping the next generation of Mt. Lake students live their dreams through the FFA. We commend her for continuing to live the FFA creed by returning to her hometown as a teacher and mentor: “… I believe that American agriculture can and will hold true to the best traditions of our national life and that I can exert an influence in my home and community which will stand solid for my part in that inspiring task.”

___

Rural communities are the backbone of our country. Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds recognizes and appreciates the many boots our employees, dealers and customers wear to keep rural America healthy. Help us serve those who serve us by nominating someone in your life to feature on https://www.lathamseeds.com and social media channels.