Deadline July 31, 2023

Farm life can be demanding and stressful and the mental health challenges that come with it is an ongoing problem. Ohio Farm Bureau has been a part of many initiatives to raise mental health awareness and reduce stigma surrounding the issue in rural communities. Yvonne Lesicko, former Ohio Farm Bureau vice president of public policy who died unexpectedly in June 2020, was one of the leaders who helped to create the state’s “Got Your Back” farm stress coalition.

The Yvonne Lesicko Memorial Fund was created in 2020 to recognize her life and career. The fund, within the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation, was established to support the causes and initiatives that she cared so deeply about, including farmer mental health.

The Yvonne Lesicko Perseverance Prize, the “Y Prize” for short, is a new award created by the fund. This award will be used to recognize groups or individuals working to find innovative solutions to farmer mental health issues, including: addressing issues of access to resources, lessening of stigma around mental health issues, and collaborating among health care, rural medicine and agriculture groups. 

“We hope the Y Prize can provide recognition and a ‘thank you’ to groups and individuals working to advance this cause,” said Kelly Burns, executive director of the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation.

The Y Prize award recipient, whether it's an individual or a group, will be given a platform to share their work and efforts. As part of the award, the recipient will be recognized and featured in Ohio Farm Bureau publications and social media posts, at Annual Meeting (Dec. 7-8, 2023) and during the Young Ag Professional Winter Leadership Experience (Jan. 26-27, 2024) . All of this is part of the award’s goal of lessening the stigma surrounding mental health issues.  

 

Nominations
Nominations will accepted through July 31, 2023. The award and nominations process will be promoted throughout the months of June and July. The YLMF advisory committee will review all nominations and select the 2023 recipient. 

Please fill out the form below to nominate a group or individual working to find innovative solutions to farmer mental health issues, including: addressing issues of access to resources, lessening of stigma around mental health issues, collaboration among health care, rural medicine and agriculture groups. All nomination will remain anonymous.

Nominator Information

Nominee Information

Please answer the following question about the nominee.

Please provide any/all supporting documentation that helps to illustrate the groups/individuals work in this area (ie. news articles, letters of recommendation, photos, etc.)

Thank you for taking the time to complete this application for the Yvonne Lesicko Perseverance Prize. If you are ready to submit this application, please click on the "Submit" button below.