Pick up know-how for tackling diseases, pests and weeds.
Farm bill, farm marketing, agribusiness webinars, & farm policy.
Find tactics for healthy livestock and sound forages.
Scheduling and methods of irrigation.
Explore our Extension locations around the state.
Commercial row crop production in Arkansas.
Agriculture weed management resources.
Use virtual and real tools to improve critical calculations for farms and ranches.
Learn to ID forages and more.
Explore our research locations around the state.
Get the latest research results from our county agents.
Our programs include aquaculture, diagnostics, and energy conservation.
Keep our food, fiber and fuel supplies safe from disaster.
Private, Commercial & Non-commercial training and education.
Specialty crops including turfgrass, vegetables, fruits, and ornamentals.
Find educational resources and get youth engaged in agriculture.
Gaining garden smarts and sharing skills.
Timely tips for the Arkansas home gardener.
Creating beauty in and around the home.
Maintenance calendar, and best practices.
Coaxing the best produce from asparagus to zucchini.
What’s wrong with my plants? The clinic can help.
Featured trees, vines, shrubs and flowers.
Ask our experts plant, animal, or insect questions.
Enjoying the sweet fruits of your labor.
Herbs, native plants, & reference desk QA.
Growing together from youth to maturity.
Crapemyrtles, hydrangeas, hort glossary, and weed ID databases.
Get beekeeping, honey production, and class information.
Grow a pollinator-friendly garden.
Schedule these timely events on your gardening calendar.
Equipping individuals to lead organizations, communities, and regions.
Guiding communities and regions toward vibrant and sustainable futures.
Guiding entrepreneurs from concept to profit.
Position your business to compete for government contracts.
Find trends, opportunities and impacts.
Providing unbiased information to enable educated votes on critical issues.
Increase your knowledge of public issues & get involved.
Research-based connection to government and policy issues.
Support Arkansas local food initiatives.
Read about our efforts.
Preparing for and recovering from disasters.
Licensing for forestry and wildlife professionals.
Preserving water quality and quantity.
Cleaner air for healthier living.
Firewood & bioenergy resources.
Managing a complex forest ecosystem.
Read about nature across Arkansas and the U.S.
Learn to manage wildlife on your land.
Soil quality and its use here in Arkansas.
Learn to ID unwanted plant and animal visitors.
Timely updates from our specialists.
Eating right and staying healthy.
Ensuring safe meals.
Take charge of your well-being.
Cooking with Arkansas foods.
Making the most of your money.
Making sound choices for families and ourselves.
Nurturing our future.
Get tips for food, fitness, finance, and more!
Understanding aging and its effects.
Giving back to the community.
Managing safely when disaster strikes.
Listen to our latest episode!
Emily SmithCPEDEmail: elsmith@uada.edu
by Emily Smith - May 1, 2020
Brian Thompson, LeadAR Class 16, is a district sales manager for Markel Specialty Insurance. In this role, Thompson manages sales teams in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mississippi. Thompson has more than a decade of experience in the insurance industry including Reinsurance Business Development. Thompson has also held roles such as captive agent and field territory representative.
He is a holder of the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) as well as the Associate of Reinsurance (ARe) designations, and a board member of the Professional Insurance Agents of Arkansas. He obtained his degree in Risk Management and Insurance from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
In his free time, Thompson enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife Allison and their two sons, Sadler and Jonathan. He enjoys hiking, floating in Arkansas’s various bodies of water, golfing, cycling, cheering for the Razorbacks, and crying over the Razorbacks.
We’ve asked Brian to reflect on his LeadAR journey and how his experience still impacts his life and work today. We’ve shared his answers below.
I’m an 8th generation Arkansan living in Cabot with my lovely wife, 2 sons, and crazy dog. I try to spend as much time enjoying all the outdoor activities available to us in Arkansas from golfing, hiking, and floating our wonderful rivers. I love fishing, hunting, and cycling as well.
I am currently the District Sales Manager for Markel Insurance and manage our distributed sales team in Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma. Additionally, I am on the board of The One, Inc., a homeless services non-profit, more commonly known as The Van.
I’m actually the third member of my family to participate in the program. My father, John Thompson, and my cousin Barbie Merrick both precede me as alumni. Between them and my retired Extension agent uncle, Tommy Thompson, I knew what a great program LeadAR was and I wanted to strengthen my understanding and knowledge of our state, and my abilities to grow within it.
LeadAR helped me to not only broaden my knowledge base of Arkansas, but brought with it significant learning in conflict resolution, building and strengthening networks, and personal growth in my ability to work with, partner with, and manage individuals I might not always agree with.
I strongly feel the time spent together with my cohort, the interpersonal discussions, relationships built and open conversations helped me tremendously in learning to work with and value other individuals across various spectrums of opinion.
I should probably list something profound and transformative, but to be honest, one of my favorite LeadAR memories is of a particular unnamed individual during our DC trip. We were leaving the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and there had been some snow and ice recently. Unfortunately this individual caught some of the ice and slipped, splitting his pants right open. Once we all regained our composure, the group rallied together to provide appropriate covering for our friends posterior.
Get to know your classmates. Take the time in the evenings and breaks to learn more about them and who they are. My classmates continue to be some of my best friends, and that wouldn’t have happened if I was in my own world and going back to the room by myself immediately. Additionally, don’t be afraid to lean on your broader LeadAR network. Not just during your service project, but after.
Patience. I often struggle with not being able to get things done as quickly as I want them done. People with the ability to be patient in the face of slowdowns will probably continue to awe me the rest of my life.
That I could probably sing-along (horribly … oh so horribly) with the soundtrack to most major current Broadway musicals.
Biography of Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.
Keeping my wife happy!
Leadership across all aspects of government, business, and community, need to remember that ALL of us are neighbors and Arkansans. Economic status, housing status, registered political party, race, creed, religion, orientation, expression, gender, and so on, have no bearing whatsoever of an individual’s right to be a part of the community. Excluding those that we don’t agree with or value from the table, conversation, or aid only widens the gaps that keep us from bonding together as communities.
I love to cook, and lately life had gotten rather hectic and I fell out of the habit of cooking dinner most nights of the week. I’m enjoying rediscovering that passion.
Just a thank you to all the individuals involved with this program from past alumni, to Extension staff, to the sponsors, legislators, and anyone else I might be forgetting. It’s an absolutely fantastic program that I will be forever grateful for having the opportunity to have been a part of.