Contact: Brandon Dukes, 806-868-3191, bdukes@ag.tamu.edu
AMARILLO – Brandon Dukes, Texas AgriLife Extension Service agricultural and natural resources agent for Roberts County, was presented with a 2010 Superior Service award from AgriLife Extension during an awards luncheon on May 17 in Amarillo.
Brandon Dukes, center left, who is the Texas AgriLife Extension Service agricultural and natural sciences agent in Roberts County, received a Superior Service Award during the annual district banquet. Presenting the award, left to right, are Danny Nusser, AgriLife Extension district director, Roberts County Judge Vernon Cook and Dr. Bonnie McGee, AgriLife Extension associate director for 4-H, youth development and human sciences. (Texas AgriLife Extension Service photo by Kay Ledbetter)
Dukes, who has served Roberts County since 2002, helped livestock producers and landowners capitalize on possible missed income opportunities from wildlife tourism through his programming, according to Danny Nusser, AgriLife Extension district director, in presenting the award.
Through the Roberts County Agriculture Program Area Committee, Dukes began combining the traditional programming on livestock production with a new emphasis on wildlife and nature tourism.
Programming ranged from quail, turkey and deer appreciation days to plant identification workshops and educational activities on wildlife populations, forage quality and habitat recovery after extensive wildfires struck in 2006, Nusser said.
As a result, annual income derived from hunting in Roberts County has more than doubled in the past five years to almost $700,000, he said.
Agriculture is not the only area where Dukes has served county residents, according to Roberts County Judge Vernon Cook in a letter of recommendation.
“Brandon’s job responsibilities include agriculture and natural resources,” Cook said. “However, since Roberts County is a single-agent county, he has provided leadership in several areas totally outside his job description.”
Cook said Dukes is responsible for about 10 percent of the county participating in The Walk Across Texas physical fitness program and for the increasing popularity of the annual food show. He is an officer of the Miami Economic/Community Development Board and was instrumental in staging a housing fair in 2009 to help bring affordable housing to Miami.
“Brandon has become a valued, respected member of our community, and I believe he exemplifies the professionalism that has been the trademark of Extension education since its inception,” Cook wrote.
The Superior Service award is the highest recognition presented by AgriLife Extension.
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