BRYAN — Sandra Kunkel, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agent for family and consumer sciences in Medina County, has received a Superior Service award from the agency in the distinguished career category.

Superior Service Awards recognize AgriLife Extension faculty and staff members who provide outstanding performance in Extension education or other outstanding service to the agency and to Texans. The award was presented Jan. 12 during the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Conference awards dinner at the Brazos Expo Center in Bryan.

Kunkel has been with Extension for 34 years. Her career began in 1978, serving as an Extension assistant in Kleberg County. She soon took a position as assistant county agent in Wilson County and then moved into the home economics agent position in 1980. Kunkel worked as county agent program leader in Karnes County from 1985 to 1992 and from 1992 to the present has been the family and consumer sciences agent in Medina County. In her current role, Kunkel provides programming and educational outreach, as well as developing and supporting community coalitions and task forces addressing issues ranging from child abuse prevention to health, literacy, food safety, nutrition and academic success.

In the award nomination, Kunkel was cited for her efforts with diabetes education, health and wellness, nutrition, child care and agricultural education.

In conjunction with “Do Well, Be Well with Diabetes” and “Cooking Well with Diabetes” programming, Kunkel formed a coalition that helped to plan and implement diabetes education, resulting in 151 individuals completing the Do Well Be Well class and 88 completing the Cooking Well With Diabetes class.

Kunkel initiated the “Walk Across Texas” program for Medina County, in which residents were invited to participate, and county employees were targeted through the County Wellness Committee chaired by the county judge. During the 15 years Kunkel has overseen Walk Across Texas efforts, more than 2,700 people have participated, walking a combined total of more than 302,400 miles.

In her Better Living for Texans efforts, Kunkel has focused on dietary management skills and food safety practices of limited-resource families, addressing the four core elements of dietary quality, food security, food safety and food resource management. Since 2001, Kunkel has been responsible for program efforts that included planning, implementing and evaluating nutrition education for food stamp recipients and food stamp eligible families. Her contribution to this program annually includes: 624 hours in agent match time annually, conducting evaluation series annually with 50 graduates, conducting 30 “one-shot” programs and making 350 educational contacts.

Kunkel was also instrumental and creating Sisters Inc., which celebrated their fifth birthday this year with 56 members. Monthly meetings provide women with an opportunity to gather and make a positive difference in the community. Under Kunkel’s leadership, Sisters Inc. has planned an Annual Medina County Women’s Conference since 2010. The conference is a service to the community by bringing nationally acclaimed speakers who address the needs and interest of women. The silent auction held during the conference raises funds that are donated to a local non-profit group that assists women or children.

Kunkel also has been active in agriculture education. She helped coordinate the first Progressive Agriculture Safety Day in Medina County, with the goal of preventing farm and rural injuries and deaths by teaching youth about farm and ranch hazards and how to avoid them. Data collected from a pre-post survey reveal that Progressive Agriculture Safety Day successfully increased the knowledge  of its participants on safety issues by 38 percent.

She also has been involved in the Fourth Grade Agriculture Awareness Day, which annually reaches approximately 900 fourth graders in Medina County, including private school and home-school students. At this educational event, Kunkel presented instruction on food and nutrition value of  grains, plus assisted with event coordination, curriculum, implementation, evaluation and interpretation.

During her career, Kunkel has developed partnerships and collaborations with agencies, groups and organizations devoted to health and wellness, community enrichment, food security and policy, literacy, education, disaster preparedness, livestock, economic development and child welfare. She has also been a member of various local, district and state committees related to food and nutrition, cost recovery, child care, information technology, clothing, financial management, fashion, leadership and training.

The award nomination also cited Kunkel for her efforts in resource acquisition and for the numerous awards she has received for works and community involvement.

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