TOPEKA – The Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association (KARA) bestowed its highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, to Roger Long of Rosen’s Inc. in Great Bend. The award presentation took place during the organization’s Annual Meeting on Aug. 19 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan.
The Distinguished Service Award goes annually to a member who has exhibited qualities of leadership, service and merit to the benefit of the association and the agribusiness industry.
“It was a huge surprise,” Long, said. “The past recipients of this award have always been such great mentors and leaders of this industry. While I don’t necessarily think of myself in that light, I am deeply humbled and greatly honored nonetheless. Our greatest calling is to serve one another, and my intentions are to continue to do so.”
Long has served on the KARA Board of Directors since 2006 and is a graduate of the Tomorrow’s Agribusiness Leaders program. As chairman of KARA’s Membership and Training Committee, Long has given tremendous amounts of time, as well as his expertise, to KARA’s training programs, according to information from Shahira Stafford, KARA’s vice president of Marketing & Communications. He is always quick to volunteer to speak at events with future agronomists and Certified Crop Advisors and is a true role model for young people entering the profession.
The Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association is a volunteer organization whose membership includes over 700 agribusiness firms that are primarily retail facilities that supply fertilizers, crop protection chemicals, seed, petroleum products and agronomic expertise to Kansas farmers.  KARA’s membership base also includes ag-chemical and equipment manufacturing firms, distribution firms and various other businesses associated with the retail crop production industry.