Iowa's Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (I-CASH) seeks nominations for its sixth annual Agricultural Safety and Health Hall of Fame Award.

The award recognizes individuals in the public or private sector in Iowa making substantial and long-term contributions to the health and safety of the state's agricultural community.

Nominees should have contributed in a leadership role to agricultural safety and health prevention through promotion or awareness activities for a considerable length of time (five or more years). Prevention, education, program evaluation, policy education, policy development, and organizational infrastructures are potential areas for outstanding merit. The recipient will receive a $100 cash award at a ceremony to be held during the Iowa State Fair in August 2007.

Award entries must include both the nominator's and nominee's contact information; a one- to two-page statement from the nominator explaining why the nominee is an excellent candidate for the award and describing relevant contributions by the nominee; and two letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with the nominee's agricultural safety and health work. In addition, nominators are encouraged to include documentation that attests to the nominee's efforts, such as newspaper articles, newsletters, or other printed media or evidence of public recognition.

The judging panel will be a group of health and agricultural leaders with expertise in agricultural safety and health issues particular to Iowa.

Charlotte Halverson of Dubuque was the 2006 recipient of the Agricultural Safety and Health Hall of Fame Award. (Keven Arrowsmith)

Charlotte Halverson of Dubuque was the 2006 recipient of the Agricultural Safety and Health Hall of Fame Award. Halverson is a highly trained and skilled occupational health nurse who has served the farming community for more than 25 years. She is the rural health training coordinator at the National Educational Center for Agricultural Safety and Rural Health and parish health coordinator at Mercy Medical Center--Dubuque. She is known both in Iowa and throughout the country as a pioneer in the fields of agricultural health and parish health nursing. In 1998, she received the Farm Bureau Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award. She is actively involved with more than 10 professional organizations, such as the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses and the National Rural Health Association. She is an instrumental leader in bringing national attention to the unique field of agricultural health and safety. Halverson received the award August 11, 2006, during the WOI Midday radio show broadcast live from the Iowa State University Extension booth, located in the 4-H Building at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. The award was presented by Iowa Senator Robert Dvorsky of Coralville.

Nomination forms and additional award information are available online or contact Eileen Fisher, associate director of I-CASH, at 319-335-4224 or eileen-fisher@uiowa.edu. The deadline for nominations is July 1, 2007.

I-CASH is headquartered at The University of Iowa College of Public Health and is a joint venture of The University of Iowa, Iowa State University, the Iowa Department of Public Health, and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. The I-CASH motto is, "Helping Farmers Stay Alive and Well."

Keven Arrowsmith is managing editor of ICM newsletter and extension communications specialist with responsibilities in pest management and the environment.