Kingston appointed to AgriLife Extension district administrator position
Makes move from Parker County to Stephenville
Jay Kingston, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agriculture and natural resources agent, is the new district administrator for Central District 8, based at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Stephenville.
Kingston, a long-time AgriLife Extension employee, takes over as the new district administrator following Donald Kelm, Ed.D., who became AgriLife Extension’s associate director for county operations on Aug. 10.
Kingston brings extensive experience to his new position after conducting educational programs, 4-H projects and result demonstrations.
“Jay has provided quality leadership to the AgriLife Extension programs that were under his guidance in Gillespie, Kendall, Kent and Parker counties over his 23-plus year career,” said Kelm. “I look forward to him providing that same level of leadership as the district administrator in District 8.”
A lifetime of AgriLife Extension programming
In his new role as the district administrator, Kingston will recruit, select and supervise AgriLife Extension agents and personnel for all counties in District 8. He will work alongside local county governments and state and federal officials to interpret AgriLife Extension activities and programming impacts across the district, as well as coordinate programming efforts with the Central Region leadership team.
“I looked up to Dr. Kelm when he was in the position I am taking now,” Kingston said. “He is a great mentor in terms of how a district administrator should interact with and be an example to agents.”
Kingston said he looks forward to getting to know the agents around the district.
“I’m excited to learn about their programming efforts and work to provide them with the best environment to excel in what they do,” he said.
Kingston has served on numerous district and state-level AgriLife Extension committees. Recently, Kingston ended his term as the president of the Texas County Agricultural Agents Association, a professional development association for AgriLife Extension’s county agricultural agents.
Kingston earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal science from Texas A&M University.
