Ag Business Council Selects Bertz, Hutter for Distinguished Service Awards

KANSAS CITY, MO – The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City has selected veteran agricultural educators Melisa Bertz of LaCygne, Kansas, and Dr. Jim Hutter of Springfield, Missouri, as recipients of its 2025 Distinguished Service Award.

“We are indebted to educators like Melisa and Jim who have inspired, guided, and mentored countless young people across rural America,” said Ron Seeber, chair of the Agricultural Business Council. Seeber, who also serves as president and CEO of the Kansas Grain and Feed Association, Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association, and Renew Kansas Biofuels Association. He also noted that “both honorees have shaped generations of students and future agricultural leaders—often without receiving the recognition they deserve.”

Melisa Bertz

Melisa Bertz
Agricultural Education Instructor, Prairie View High School, LaCygne, Kansas

With more than 30 years of service in agricultural education, Melisa Bertz has built a program rooted in rigor, empathy, and leadership. She earned her B.S. in Animal Science and Industry (1990) and M.S. in Secondary Agricultural Education (1993) from Kansas State University. Over the past seven years at Prairie View High School, Bertz has fostered a culture of academic excellence and student development, transforming the program into a model for agricultural education statewide.

Jim Hutter

Dr. Jim Hutter
Associate Professor, School of Hospitality & Agricultural Leadership, Missouri State University

Dr. Jim Hutter has spent more than four decades shaping agricultural education in Missouri, with a special focus on teacher preparation at both the secondary and post-secondary levels. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1989 and currently teaches a wide range of courses at Missouri State University. Through his own classroom and the classrooms of the hundreds of teachers he has mentored, Hutter’s wide-reaching influence has touched thousands of agriculture students throughout Missouri.

The Council will formally recognize Bertz and Hutter at a reception in Kansas City on July 10.

The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City represents more than 700 leaders from across the food and agribusiness value chain. Agribusiness remains a cornerstone of the Kansas City economy, accounting for 8% of the regional workforce and 22% of the gross regional product (GRP).