Another busy week has passed in the Missouri Senate. This week I had the pleasure of meeting with many local constituent groups and hearing about issues that affect my fellow citizens from the 18th Senatorial District. While we continue to debate legislation in the Senate chamber, I want to focus the column this week on some upcoming opportunities for the counties I represent.

The first opportunity I would like to share with my constituents is the Missouri State Fair’s “Missouri Woman in Agriculture” contest. This contest recognizes an outstanding woman in Missouri agriculture and includes a second category for women between the ages of 18 and 30 to recognize a rising female star in state agriculture. Each winner will receive a plaque and the opportunity to designate a non-profit agriculture-related cause to receive a $1,000 donation in her name. For a complete list of rules, log on to www.mostatefair.com/ag-contest. For questions about the application process, please contact the fair by phone at 800-422-3247 or (660) 530-5600, or by email at mostatefair@mda.mo.gov.

Along with the “Missouri Woman in Agriculture” award, I want to call your attention to the “America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education” award, sponsored by Monsanto. This award is a grant program that allows farmers to positively impact their communities by supporting local school districts. The program gives farmers the opportunity to nominate a public school district in their community to compete for a merit-based grant of either $10,000 or $25,000 to enhance education in the areas of math and/or science. I am proud to say that last year’s winners included the Community R-VI and the Monroe City R-I school districts.

Nomination entries for the “America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education” award will be taken through April 15, 2013. Nominations will be accepted online at www.americasfarmers.com/growruraleducation or by calling 877-267-3332. The counties in my Senate district available for the grant program include Adair, Chariton, Clark, Knox, Lewis, Linn, Macon, Marion, Pike, Scotland, Shelby, Ralls and Randolph.

In addition to this award, there are two other opportunities for our local schools. At the end of the school year, I am pleased to present two awards: the Missouri Senate Outstanding Attendance award and the Missouri Senate Junior Justice award for schools in the district who choose to participate. The Missouri Senate Outstanding Attendance award is presented to students who reach or surpass the 97 percent attendance rate at their school. I created the Missouri Senate Junior Justice award, distributed to one male student and one female student in their junior year of high school, in order to honor those students who embody the spirit of civic competence and government awareness, whether by excelling in the area of social studies and history, participating in organizations that promote youth leadership, and/or preparing themselves for 21st century civic life. Please make sure to encourage your local schools to take part in these award programs. I look forward to honoring our local students for all their achievements.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my office.