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Sunday’s volunteer recruitment event at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame drew several prospective volunteers looking to give of their free time to help an institution in need.

“To get it back on its feet again to it can sustain itself,” said farmer and Wyandotte County Farm Bureau member Jerry Sipes, of why he and his wife Pam had showed up to the event, which was from 1-4 p.m. Sunday afternoon. “(I want to help) give other people the opportunity to see what farming is all about … they don’t know what all goes into it.”

Cathi Hahner, head of the center’s operations committee, said the event was put together to draw people who may be able to help out in such areas as answering phones, front desk responsibilities, maintenance and giving tours of the facilities. Though the center boasts about 300 volunteers, she said, the majority of those are seasonal volunteers who help out with specific events throughout the year. Meanwhile, volunteers who help out on a consistent basis are few and far between.

“That’s where a big need is – those weekly or twice a month volunteers,” Hahner said.

Others that showed up to the event included Les Chubrick, who said he was looking for something to occupy himself once he left his job at Knit-Rite, Inc., a manufacturer of medical textiles in Kansas City, Kan., in May. The volunteer recruitment was Chubrick’s first time visiting the Ag Hall of Fame.

“I’m impressed,” he said of the center. “It’s bigger than I thought it would be.”

Chubrick said he wasn’t sure yet how he wanted to help the Ag Hall, but was considering giving of his time to the areas of marketing and promotion – areas he had been responsible for at Knit-Rite as a manager and organizer of trade shows.

“It would be a shame for this to be neglected and we need to make more people aware of it,” Chubrick said. “I’m gonna drag my grandkids here.”

More of this story can be found in the April 29 issue of the Chieftain.

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