Meyerhoff Receives Conservation Award
The 2024 KACEE Awards Celebration was held on April 5, 2024, at Sunset Zoo in Manhattan, KS to celebrate excellence in conservation and environmental education and is an opportunity to help support the work of an amazing nonprofit organization. During the event KACEE, the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education, was honored to present Dan Meyerhoff, KACD Executive Director, with the 2024 KACEE Award for Excellence in Conservation and Environmental Education in the field of community and non-profit.
Dan's entire career has centered around conservation. He spent 38 years with NRCS before taking on his current leadership role with the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts in 2017. Dan has made tremendous strides to bring not only KACD, but conservation in Kansas, to the forefront of state funding discussions and partnership projects.
His nominator, KACEE Board Member Keri Harris, had this to say, "Thanks to Dan’s leadership the KACD board currently has 15 cooperative agreements with partners such as NRCS, KS WRAPS, Land O Lakes, Archer Daniels Midland, General Mills, Kansas Soil Health Alliance and the National Association of Conservation Districts. These partnership agreements vary from funding for technical field staff and providing more boots on the ground for best management practice installation; to providing incentive payments direct to landowners who participate in climate smart initiatives. Not only has KACD benefited from the various partnership agreements, but so have Kansas conservation districts, the landowners they serve and most importantly the natural resources of Kansas have benefited. The planning and implementation Dan and the KACD Board have developed over the last 6 years has been monumental and is setting the stage for long term success of KACD and local districts as most are nearing their 80th anniversary and looking towards the next 80 years of conserving natural resources for the future to benefit all Kansans."
Under Dan's leadership KACD has created an outreach and education process that benefits local conservation districts unlike anything they had in the past. KACD owns many educational tools such as the soil tunnel trailers, AR sandboxes, rainfall simulators, and the Earth Balloon for use by local conservation districts at events and field days. Access to these professional tools have added such educational value to the local events hosted by conservation districts.
In 2017, Dan stepped up as an original member of the Kansans for Conservation Coalition and continues to serve on the coalition 's executive committee. Kansas for Conservation is a coalition of diverse organizations working collaboratively to ensure a healthy and sustainable future for Kansas, focused on water, land, outdoor recreation, and environmental education resources for Kansans.
Keri Harris also noted, "Dan is an exceptional leader and is always accessible and open to conversation and suggestions from members of KACD. It is a privilege to work with Dan and watch as he leads KACD into the next phase of success as the association provides services and experiences to allow current and future generations to understand the importance and value of conservation. The work Dan has already accomplished in his short time as executive director will leave a legacy for future conservation leaders.”