Cultivate

Our guest today is Mr. Scott Nemecek – the state FFA advisor and agricultural education program manager for the Oklahoma Department of Career Tech. 

Scott has spent his entire career in agricultural education. He taught ag for thirty-five years, starting in Perry, and then three decades in Owasso. 

Scott grew up in Noble, Oklahoma. He was a state FFA officer in 1981-82, and received his degree in ag education from Oklahoma State in 1985.  

Our guest today is Lucinda Morte. Lucinda has spent 20 years providing behavioral health treatment in California and Oklahoma. She believes that treatment and advocacy are key components to helping people recover.  She’s an instructor of suicide prevention programs and works at Mental Health Association Oklahoma as the clinical coordinator for the Mental Health Assistance Center. 

Our guest today is Mr. Brent Haken, the state director of the Oklahoma Career Tech system – a role he has held since January of this year. Brent grew up showing livestock, which led him to studying ag education at Oklahoma State University. He started his career as an ag teacher before moving into school administration, where he served three years as the superintendent of Morrison Public Schools. 

Our guest today is Ford Drummond, a third-generation rancher in Osage County. He graduated from Pawhuska High School in 1981, and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford and a law degree from the University of Virginia. Prior to returning to Oklahoma in 1998, he worked in private practice at a law firm in San Francisco. 

Ford serves on a number of boards, including the Nature Conservancy, the Frank Phillips Foundation, and the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers. He serves on corporate boards for BancFirst and Virtus Mutual Fund. 

Our guest today is Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas. Congressman Lucas is a fifth-generation Oklahoman whose family has farmed here for more than 120 years. 

He was born and raised near Cheyenne, Oklahoma, and graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in ag economics in 1982. He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994. During his time in Congress, he has served on several committees and in different capacities. Some of the most notable is the Chairman of the House Agricultural Committee, and the current Chairman of the House Science, Space, and technology committee,  he is the longest-serving member on the House Financial Service Committee. He's been an advocate for Oklahoma, Oklahoma Agriculture, and the American farmer ever since he was elected. 

Our guest today is Dr. Kayse Shrum … In April 2021, Dr. Shrum was named president of Oklahoma State University,  making her the 19th president of OSU, and the first female president.  Prior to becoming president of OSU, she served eight years as president of OSU’s Center for Health Sciences.  Go Pokes!

Our guest today is Chris Meyers, the general manager and CEO of the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives, where he has held this position for 12 years. Prior to that, he spent 25 years with OGE Energy Corp., where he held roles in government affairs, shared services, daily operations, and engineering.

Dr. Rob Terry is the Department Head of Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership at Oklahoma State University, He took on the role in 2010 after similar positions at the University of Missouri and Texas Tech University.

On this episode we talk to Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture, Blayne Arthur. She was sworn in by Governor Kevin Stitt in 2019 and is the state’s first woman to hold this position.