August 29, 2014
Britton wins Forrest Bassford Award
Submitted by Communications and Marketing
Logan Britton, senior majoring in agricultural communications and journalism, and agricultural economics at Kansas State University, is the recipient of the 2014 Livestock Publications Council Forrest Bassford Student Award sponsored by Alltech. Britton was presented a $2,000 scholarship and a plaque at the Ag Media Summit in Indianapolis, Indiana, July 26-30.
Britton, Bartlett, is an active member of Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow, Student National Agri-Marketing Association and the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. At K-State, he is involved with College of Agriculture Ambassadors and College of Agriculture Student Council. Britton also serves in the Student Governing Association as an agriculture student senator and committee chair.
In addition to his involvement in collegiate clubs and national organizations, Britton works part time as the office manager for the College of Agriculture's academic programs office. This summer, he participated in an internship sponsored by American Agricultural Editors' Association with the National FFA Organization.
"I didn't grow up living on a farm or showing livestock," Britton said. "Realizing how important agriculture is, I want to bridge the gap that exists between the field and the plate today. I'm thrilled to continue K-State's winning tradition in the Bassford award."
Since the award's creation in 1985, K-State has had 10 student award winners and 16 finalists, the most of any institution.
"Our success in the award is proof that we have a strong agricultural communications program, which focuses on preparing students for their future careers," Britton said. "I owe my success to several mentors, role models, professors, friends and family for the opportunities provided to me and fostering my development over the years. I'm truly honored to receive this award."
The Forrest Bassford Student Award honors excellence, professionalism and leadership among students studying agricultural communications. Each year, following a competitive application process, the Livestock Publications Council student award program presents four young people travel scholarships to attend Ag Media Summit. While at the meeting, the four finalists' portfolios were reviewed and each was interviewed by a panel of professionals.
2014 marks the 29th year for the Student Award Program. Forrest Bassford's name was appended to the Livestock Publications Council Student Award in 1992 in honor of his contribution to the council and his particular interest in furthering the student award. Alltech has sponsored the award since 2012.
"Today's young agricultural journalists must not only be excellent communicators, but also able to successfully multitask between various social and traditional media channels," said Ann Hess, North America field public relations manager for Alltech. "They must be 'agvocates' and educate a growing urban population about our industry. Finally, they must be catalysts for change as they share new technologies developed and policies passed with their readers. We are pleased to present this award to a fine young leader in agricultural journalism and wish Logan the best in his future aspirations."