AAF medal, Xcel manager, beef conference among this week's business news
Local advertising professional receives AAF Silver Medal Award
Expio Digital Marketing Chief Relationship Officer Jody Reynolds was awarded the highest honor at the Amarillo American Advertising Awards Gala hosted at the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum on Feb. 22. During the event, which recognizes great creative advertising achievements in the Panhandle, Reynolds was bestowed with the AAF Silver Medal, according to a news release.
The AAF Silver Medal Award Program was established in 1959 to recognize men and women who have made outstanding contributions to advertising and who have been active in furthering the industry's standards, creative excellence and responsibility in areas of social concern.
Annually, clubs across the country bestow this national AAF honor upon outstanding members of the local advertising community. The AAF Silver Medal is considered the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award. Amarillo has only given this award to 58 individuals over the years.
Reynolds was chosen by an AAF-Amarillo nominating committee partly because of her outstanding contributions to marketing and advertising both at her time at the American Quarter Horse Association (2000-2018) and Expio Digital Marketing (2018-Present). During her career, she has used creative thinking and innovation to create growth for her clients, spearheading projects ranging from email campaigns to targeted social ads campaigns, from print projects to entire website builds.
With a degree in print journalism from Kansas State University, Reynolds has proven herself versatile and committed to lifelong learning to maintain excellence in her field. Outside of work, Reynolds volunteers on the Martha’s Home board, the Harrington Cancer and Health Foundation Colors Run Together Race committee, the Nutcracker Ball committee, the Sunshine for Charlotte committee, and the Amarillo Convention and Visitors Council Communications committee. She is a Ronald McDonald House Charities of Amarillo volunteer and a member of the Amarillo Area Mothers of Multiples Club. She has volunteered at or been active in her church since moving to Amarillo in 2000.
“This lady has a servant leader’s heart,” said AAF-Amarillo past president and board member Honnah Taylor. “She’s always there to volunteer when any charity needs her and serves on numerous boards. The Amarillo and Panhandle communities are better because she’s in it.”
Reynolds has been married to her husband, Nathan, for 20 years, and they have identical twin boys who are completing their senior year of high school.
Xcel Energy names new Social Investments manager
Stephanie Peña has been named Xcel Energy’s manager for Social Investments in Texas and New Mexico, succeeding Terry Price, who retired in December.
In her new role, Peña will be responsible for Xcel Energy Foundation grant partnerships in Xcel Energy’s Texas and New Mexico service area, focusing on three core focus areas: STEM Career Pathways, Environmental Sustainability and Community Vitality. Peña also will lead the company’s employee engagement initiatives and coordinate Xcel Energy’s annual United Way campaign.
“Stephanie’s background in nonprofit management and her knowledge of our Texas and New Mexico communities has uniquely positioned her to lead our corporate giving and employee engagement initiatives,” said Brad Baldridge, Xcel Energy director of Customer and Community Relations in Amarillo. “We’re excited to see her build upon Terry Price’s accomplishments as we work with area nonprofits to continually improve our communities.”
Peña is a native of the Texas Panhandle and graduated from Hereford High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from West Texas A&M University. An earlier career in church work led her to jobs in the nonprofit sector where she has worked the past 10 years. She has held positions at the Salvation Army, Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains, Amarillo Area Foundation and United Way of Amarillo & Canyon. She is a certified public information officer and certified major gifts officer.
Peña has also served on various community boards and has been involved with organizations such as VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster), Women of Distinction Committee, American Advertising Federation, Beans and Cornbread Committee, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Bienvenidos Ribbon Cutting Committee, Amarillo Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting Committee, Welcome Pardner, and the Amarillo Downtown Kiwanis Club, where she served as the club’s youngest president and first Hispanic female president.
Texas A&M AgriLife to host Hemphill County Beef Conference April 23-24
Themed “Better Ranching for Better Life,” the Texas A&M AgriLife Hemphill County Beef Conference is set for April 23-24 in the Jones Pavilion, 1101 N. Sixth St., Canadian.
While many ranchers will still be reeling from the devastation left in the path of the Smokehouse Creek Fire, Andy Holloway, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agriculture and natural resources agent for Hemphill County, said the saying “the show must go on” may be as important as ever.
“We will be addressing everything from the future of the cattle market to what is in store with the weather and risk management, all of which will play an important role in the recovery of our ranchers here in our county and across the industry,” Holloway said. He also assured participants that despite the severe damage in parts of Canadian, they will still be able to accommodate the expected doubling of the town’s size when participants arrive.
Registration, at $150 per person and spouse tickets at $125, is open online at www.hemphillcotxbeef.com, by calling 806-323-9114 or stopping by the AgriLife Extension office at 10965 Exhibition Center Road, Canadian.
A new feature with the Texas Beef Council will include chef presentations in a new tent dedicated to beef products developed by Texas Beef Checkoff dollars, including a tasting opportunity of some of the developments to enhance value. Also, a record number of trade show exhibitors, more than 100, will be in attendance. A chuckwagon lunch April 24 will feed the entire crowd ribeye steaks, mashed potatoes and green beans. A total of three beef meals are included in the registration price.
The Hemphill County Ag Committee will bring in Kayleigh McEnany, former White House press secretary and current co-host of Outnumbered on the Fox News Channel, as the keynote speaker April 23. McEnany’s topic will be “America’s Heart and Soul is Under Attack.” Additionally, Holloway said the conference will offer 12 sessions on everything from financing, regenerative pasture management and new technology to beef cattle genetics, beef quality and what future production might look like. The complete agenda can be found online.
Eat a sub, help a charity on March 27
The Amarillo Jersey Mike’s location will donate 100% of sales proceeds to the Children's Miracle Network of Amarillo from one day later this month.
Wondering what to eat and like helping others? Head to Jersey Mike’s Subs restaurant in Amarillo at 2311 S. Georgia St. on Wednesday, March 27 and grab a sub, and the purchase, whether made in-store, online or through the app, will go to the charity as part of Jersey Mike’s 14th Annual nationwide Day of Giving.
All month, generous customers have been rounding up and making donations at more than 2,700 Jersey Mike’s locations throughout the nation during the 14th Annual “Month of Giving” fundraising campaign for local charities, a news release states. Customers can help a charity on March 27 where they live by buying lunch, dinner or a catered meal, and they'll pay it all forward. Get some extra “juice” out of your donation by sending subs to a favorite charity or organization.
During this year’s Month of Giving in March, Jersey Mike’s hopes to surpass last year’s record-breaking $21 million fundraising total. Proceeds support more than 200 local charities across the country striving to fulfill their missions and make a difference. Since 2011, Jersey Mike’s Month of Giving has raised more than $88 million for local charities.
For more information, visit www.jerseymikes.com or follow them on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and/or X (formerly Twitter) and join in the conversation at #JerseyMikesGives.
Capital Farm Credit contributes to $380,000 Farm Credit donation for Texas wildfire relief
BRYAN - In response to recent devastating wildfire outbreaks impacting much of the Texas Panhandle and parts of Oklahoma, Capital Farm Credit, along with several Farm Credit System organizations have joined forces to contribute funds to support extensive wildfire recovery and relief efforts in the Texas Panhandle.
To support agricultural producers and communities stricken by the deadly fires, 10 Texas Farm Credit District lending cooperatives, along with Farm Credit Bank of Texas, CoBank, Farmer Mac and other System organizations, have pledged a combined $380,000 for fire relief efforts. Contributors include: AgTexas Farm Credit Services, AgTrust Farm Credit, Alabama Ag Credit, Capital Farm Credit, Central Texas Farm Credit, Heritage Land Bank, Mississippi Land Bank, Plains Land Bank, Southern AgCredit, Texas Farm Credit, American AgCredit, Farm Credit Services of America and Farm Credit Mid-America.
“No matter large or small, members of our CFC family were impacted, including coworkers and customers,” said Jeff Norte, chief executive officer. “When tragedy strikes, we come together to try our best to ease heartache, loss, and destruction, even when it seems impossible to rationalize the broken pieces that will mend in time. During good times and bad, Farm Credit is here for agriculture. Capital Farm Credit is here for Texas. Together, we will start to rebuild.”
Pledges will benefit the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Disaster Relief Fund.
WT Educator Preparation Program lauded by TEA’s Board of Educator Certification
CANYON — West Texas A&M University’s Educator Preparation Program recently earned a top honor from the Texas Education Agency. WT’s program earned a commendation by the TEA’s State Board for Educator Certification under its “Preparing the Educators Texas Needs” category, the agency told the university in a March 8 letter.
WT was recognized for the percentage of prepared teachers in teacher shortage areas and for the percentage of prepared teachers employed in rural schools, both key measures in addressing regional needs.
“The University has always had a rich, longstanding reputation of producing high quality teachers and being a leader in the field of education,” said Dr. Gary Bigham, dean of WT’s Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences. “It takes a village to fulfill our mission to produce day-one ready teachers for our public schools. These commendations are a testament to the entire team in our educator preparation program, our collaborative school district partners, and our quality students.”
The commendations — the first such awards received by WT — were voted on at SBEC’s February meeting, at which WT’s educator preparation program was reviewed and awarded the board’s highest status by meeting the standard on every measure and subcategory. Commendations also were granted for “Rigorous and Robust Preparation,” “Preparing Educators for Long-Term Success” and “Innovative Educator Preparation.”
SBEC looked at educator preparation for the 2022-23 academic year, during which 115 WT graduates were certified as teachers.
TTUHSC Commercial Venture TKQuant receives European patent
In 2018, TKQuant LLC, a company formed through Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC), created a software algorithm that measures tissue kinematics, a field associated with biomechanics that measures human motion and the tissue’s response to the stress created by the motion.
The company, established and trained through the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (also known as I-Corps) program and related offerings at the Texas Tech University (TTU) Innovation Hub at Research Park (The Hub), uses existing video or images to decrease the risk of injury and misdiagnosis, and to reduce injury-related costs by improving diagnostic parameters.
More specifically, TKQuant’s image-based technique quantifies a tissue’s kinematic response to a procedure in real time while providing directions to clinicians regarding potential therapies and interventions for individual patients.
With guidance from TTU’s Office of Research and Commercialization, the TKQuant co-founders — Kerry K. Gilbert, P.T., Sc.D., and Phil Sizer Jr., P.T., Ph.D., from the TTUHSC School of Health Professions; Suhas Pol, Ph.D., from TTU; and Richard Ellis, P.T., Ph.D., from Auckland University of Technology (New Zealand) — began the patent filing process in the United States and Europe.
In November 2023, the team was awarded the European patent (EP3678536 – System and Method for Measuring Real-Time Body Kinematics) for Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Netherlands. The United States patent is pending.
Gilbert said receiving the European patent is an important step for TKQuant because it allows the company to continue to develop, test and market their technology without concern of another group trying to copy or use it without a licensing agreement from Gilbert, Sizer and their co-inventors.
“The EU patent also provides additional opportunities for TKQuant to develop the use of that technology in countries that have the potential for its use,” Gilbert added.
Sizer agreed and said the company’s technology has the potential to make a transformative impact on people who may otherwise suffer significantly over a long period of time. “Use of the technology could additionally help health care delivery systems efficiently manage patients at a considerably reduced cost,” Sizer said.
Campaign celebrating ranching communities reaches nearly 4 million views
AUSTIN – Texas, Nebraska and Oklahoma Beef Councils joined forces to develop a promotional campaign resulting in nearly 4 million views during the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). Using the theme, “The space between us brings us together,” the campaign showed appreciation for both the producers who raise beef and the consumers who choose to enjoy it.
“The NFR is a time for the rodeo community to celebrate its cowboys and cowgirls, and we’re thankful beef is at the center of many of those celebrations,” said Molly McAdams, executive vice president for Texas Beef Council (TBC). “NFR’s demographics show that many viewers are not farmers or ranchers. As a result, our campaign has been able to reach a large number of consumers who are not involved in agriculture while showcasing how much care producers put into raising their cattle.”
A television ad combined existing video assets from each state with a voiceover by Western artist and Texan, Red Steagall. The ad aired during all rodeo competitions and performances broadcast on The Cowboy Channel, while digital marketing efforts drove NFR fans to explore the heritage of beef production and rancher-inspired recipes at Beef.It’sWhat’sForDinner.com.
TBC will continue promoting the video to Texas audiences to get an even greater return on its promotional investment.
“By partnering with the Nebraska and Oklahoma Beef Councils on this campaign, we were able to pool our funding and creative assets to achieve more than we could alone,” McAdams said. “It’s just another way that TBC is helping promote beef on a national stage, benefiting Texas beef producers and the entire beef industry in a way that’s efficient and effective.”
For more information about Texas Beef Council and Beef Checkoff programs, visit TexasBeefCheckoff.com.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo area business news and developments for March 24, 2024
