Eikner fills AgriLife Extension agriculture position in Potter County
Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, [email protected]
Contact: Megan Eikner, 806-373-0713, [email protected]
AMARILLO – Megan Eikner has been hired as the new Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agriculture and natural resources agent in Potter County. She began April 2.
“Megan has a great background in teaching technical education, which should allow her to quickly and effectively plan and execute high quality AgriLife Extension programs,” said Brandon Dukes, AgriLife Extension district administrator in Amarillo. “We are extremely pleased she is joining our team in District 1.”
Eikner, a native of Las Animas, Colorado, said this is a return to what she grew up doing and studied for in college. She earned her bachelor’s degree in animal science with a major in meats from Oklahoma Panhandle State at Goodwell, Oklahoma, and her master’s degree in agricultural sciences at West Texas A&M University in Canyon.
Most recently, Eikner has been serving as the dean of technical education at Amarillo College. She joined the college’s workforce in 2009 as associate director of continuing education and served in that capacity until 2012. She then served three years as the director of continuing education, simultaneously representing the college on the Workforce Education Course Manual Board and the Texas Association of College Technical Educators Board for the State of Texas.
Eikner was among the young business professionals the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce named to its annual list of Top 20 Under 40 in 2013. Twice in 2015 she was recognized for her volunteer efforts: as Randall County Family and Consumer Service Volunteer Leader of the Year and as a Distinguished Leader of 4-H, District 1.
Eikner said she was introduced to AgriLife Extension in the early 2000s, when she worked a two-year stint as an urban youth development specialist in Randall County.
“My interests have always been in agriculture,” she said. Eikner grew up on a farm/ranch and still has a livestock operation near Amarillo.
Topping her list of to-do’s when she gets settled into office will be to familiarize herself with the horticulture issues of Potter County and the Master Gardener program, Eikner said. She also plans to develop a veterinary technology studies program offered by the Texas Veterinary Medical Association. The association sponsors the Veterinary Science Certificate Program for 4-H youth and high schools students across the state.
“With producers, I plan to focus on water conservation and just spend time getting to know who they are, what their needs are and how we can help them,” she said.
