April 13, 2006
The Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) Chapter at Iowa State University was recently selected National Chapter of the Year.
This was the second year in a row the chapter has received this honor, which was announced April 1 at the national MANRRS conference in St. Louis.
The award is based on building membership, leadership development, community service, promotion of the national organization and its plan of work or calendar of events. Chapter members arranged food drives that supplied Thanksgiving dinners for local families, organized clothing donations, volunteered at the Iowa Special Olympics and contributed aid to Panama and Costa Rica, among its activities last year.
At the conference, Aurelio Curbelo, chapter president and graduate student in agricultural education and studies, was elected vice president of this region. He said his goal is to establish MANRRS "junior" chapters in Iowa high schools to expose minority students to the agricultural sciences, encourage leadership and convince them to pursue a college education.