Extension Agent Wins Anne Wiprud Award

Valley County Montana State University (MSU) Extension agent Shelly Mills was awarded the Anne Wiprud Memorial Award during the MSU annual conference in Bozeman, Oct. 23-27.

The Anne Wiprud Memorial Award recognizes a MSU Extension professional with fewer than 10 years of experience for their outstanding achievement. In order to receive the award, colleagues need to nominate a peer and then all applications go through a review process. All agents in Montana from all program areas were eligible and competed for this award.

Unknown to Mills before the conference, her colleague, Bobbie Roos from the Daniels County Extension office, nominated her for this award due to all of Mills' achievements in the relatively short time of being at the Extension office. In finding out she won the award, "I was very surprised," said Mills.

Mills started working for the extension office in 2010 and graduated with her master's degree in 2016, while still working full time. When she first started her position, there was a huge problem with the invasive weed Narrow-Leaf Hawsbeard in croplands throughout Valley County. Mills helped provide the education on how to manage this weed and then applied what she learned to receive her master's degree in the management of the plant.

Other achievements she was recognized for in order to receive the award included organizing the NE Montana Pulse Plot Tour in Richland, developing a beekeeping curriculum for the bookkeeping workshops, providing private applicator training and her various achievements with 4-H, among many others.

Mills told the Courier in receiving the award, "It was very humbling and an honor."