Minnesota FSA employee gets national award
By Heather Thorstensen
hthorstensen@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 07/15/2010 4:05 PM
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SAINT PAUL —Mary Aukes, of USDA Farm Service Agency in Minnesota, received its highest honorary award last month in Washington, D.C.
Aukes is a member of the human resources team at FSA's state office in St. Paul.
FSA Administrator Jonathon Coppess presented her with the Administrator's Award for Service to Agriculture.
She, and a select group of other FSA employees from across the country, were recognized in theExcellence in Leadership and Management category. This category is for those who excel in motivating and leading employees while fully utilizing staff's skills.
Aukes' job as an administrative specialist is to support the agency's 1,000-plus employees around the state.
She knows what they're going through. For 26 years, she worked in county FSA offices, first in Winnebago County, Iowa, as a program technician and then in Blue Earth County as chief program technician.
"The counties work so hard, that's what it's all about for me," she said.
She moved to the state office six years ago.
"Most of my day is human resources —getting people on board the agency, answering all their questions about benefits — and I'm working a lot now with retirees, people who are preparing to retire."
Aukes took on additional duties this year on top of her normal responsibilities. That helped her stand out for the award, said FSA State Executive Director Linda Hennen.Aukes became a national trainer for FSA's farm loan officers and trained elected county committee members on performance management.
"She's a very enthusiastic person, not negative in any way, and she sets such a positive example for the whole state —all the employees around the state —that can't be replaced. And so it's for her work ethic, her treatment of others, her attitude, for all those reasons as well as her special accomplishments this year, that she was nominated," Hennen said.
Glenn Schafer, executive officer for Minnesota FSA, also praised Aukes' service.
"Mary continually exceeds all expectations in performing her duties," he said.
Her husband, Paul, accompanied her to Washington to accept the award and they were able to see a few of the city's sites there.
"Very humbled, very honored and very surprised, and excited to actually meet the administrator and have a chance to visit with him," she said of her reaction to the award. "And there's so many people that should be recognized for what they do every day."
At the heart of her management philosophy is making sure her team has what they need.
"It's not that I'm hands off, but I do believe everyone needs to perform their duties to the best of their ability. It's about providing resources and tools they need so they can do that. It's not to do the job for them," Aukes said.
Her favorite part of her job is working with colleagues.
"I just think I'm very lucky, to be able to work at something that I love to do. And we've got dedicated employees. It makes my job very easy," she said.
In her free time, Aukes enjoys anything having to do with being by a lake. She and Paul live in Madison Lake and have two grown sons.
"We love to sail, we love to fish —anything outdoors," she said. "And I'm a huge quilter."
The Farm Service Agency's initiatives include the Milk Income Loss Contract program and Direct and Guaranteed Farm Loans.