By: Ryan Duey
Photo Courtesy of CC Conservation District
The public is invited to the Clay County Conservation District’s 2026 Annual Meeting on Monday, January 26th, at the Clay County Event Center in Clay Center, beginning with a complimentary catered meal at 6:00 p.m.
Along with a meal, the evening will include recognition of the 2025 Conservation Award winners. Jessica Boeckman, District Manager, spoke about this year’s event and awards.
“The Conservation District’s Annual Meeting is designed to allow the Board of Supervisors to report back to the residents of Clay County about the previous year’s conservation activities.”
“It also allows us to recognize landowners who are doing an outstanding job of conservation stewardship.”
“This year, we’re going to present awards for soil conservation, grassland management, and windbreak practices, as well as the Young Farmer Award.”
This year’s special guest speaker will be Thomas Eisenbarth. Eisenbarth, a farmer out of Pottawatomie County, is the founder of Grounded Ag. A Farm Bureau award winner, Eisenbarth uses his personal experiences to speak of mental health and well-being in agriculture.
There will also be activities for children to keep them entertained during programming again this year. Boeckman spoke of additional activities.
“We will also have the Poster Contest Awards. We had a tremendous number of entries from Clay County students this year.”
“We even had a couple of posters recognized as Honorable Mention for State awards, and we had a Second-Place State Award winner this year.”
“We’re also going to have an art exhibit brought in by Great Plains Fire Science; it’s called Fire Art. It’s a really neat exhibit.”
“We’re looking forward to having everybody out, and we hope to see you then.”
This year, attendees will have the opportunity to vote on the ‘People’s Choice Award’ for the Poster Contest. Further highlighting the hard work area students put into their masterpieces.
The event is free, but an RSVP is encouraged by January 19th for a food count. RSVP by contacting Boeckman. Additional information on this year’s meeting can be found on the District’s Facebook page.
