District Commissioners Ralph Lampman   Ralph was elected as a SWCD commissioner in January of 2001 and has been secretary/treasurer of the district since that time. He attends the Conservation Districts of Iowa (CDI) Conference each year that he has been in office.   Ralph is the branch manager of the New Coop in Carroll (formerly known as Farmers Coop), where he has worked since February 1991. Prior to that, he was a technician with the SWCD for two and a half years. Ralph is a graduate of Kuemper High School in Carroll. He and his wife Karen have been married for 40 years and have lived in Arcadia for the past four years.   In addition to serving on the SWCD board, Ralph is president of the St. John's Parish Council in Arcadia, the finance officer and bookkeeper for the Arcadia American Legion, and is a member of the Midwest Iowa Old Iron Club. In his spare time, he enjoys vacationing in Branson, MO, antique tractor meetings and rides, and visiting and playing cards with friends. Alan Lemker   Conservation practices that Alan employs on his farm near Breda include no-till, wetlands, crop rotation and nutrient management. He was first elected as a SWCD commissioner in 1984 and currently serves as board chairman. Under his leadership, the Carroll SWCD initiated a number of special projects including Hazelbrush Watershed, Carroll County Livestock Pollution Abatement Project, Carroll County Wetland Project, Swan Lake Watershed Project, Manure Brokering Program, and the Carroll County Buffer Initiative. Prior to being elected a commissioner, Alan was an assistant commissioner for several years. In addition to his local responsibilities, Alan is an alternate director for Region 5 Conservation Districts of Iowa. As a SWCD Commissioner, Alan serves on the Dairy Farmers of America district resolutions committee. He has previously served on the board for the Mississippi and Missouri Divide Resource Conservation & Development Council (M & M Divide RC & D). Alan provides input on local, state and national issues related to soil, water and the environment. He leads by example and encourages residents to contact him with concerns about issues related to soil and water.   Alan is active in his local church, along with his wife Nancy. Together, they have six children and one grandchild. Joe Shirbroun   Joe has served as a SWCD commissioner for nine years. He uses a combination of minimum tillage and no-till practices on his corn and soybean acres in the Coon Rapids area. He also manages a cow-calf herd and finishes the calves out in his feedlot. Throughout the years, Joe has been a strong promoter of land conservation. He has implemented terraces, waterways, grassed headlands, buffer strips and seeded highly erodible land (HEL) to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Joe was awarded the Isaak Walton Farmstead Windbreak Award by the Carroll SWCD in 1990. In addition to his conservation work, Joe served on the Coon Rapid-Bayard School Board for nine years as well as serving on the Carroll County Compensation Board for three years. He and his wife, Janice, are members of the Trinity Lutheran Church in rural Coon Rapids where Joe has served as church President, elder and in various other roles.   Joe and Janice have four children, Joe Jr., Jeff, Julie and Janell along with 13 grandchildren. Tom Simons   Tom has been a SWCD commissioner for 15 years. He and his wife, Pat, have made their home on Pat's home place east of Roselle for 37 years. The farm will earn designation as a Century Farm in 2009. The farm is in the shadow of the cross of Holy Angels Catholic Church in Roselle, where Tom is an active member. He has been a parish director for 20 years and served as Eucharistic minister, choir member and on the Holy Angels Cemetery Board.   Tom has practiced conservation on his land for the past 15 years, including no-till, contouring, terraces, waterways, CRP land and the recent construction of a four-acre pond. Tom and his wife are looking forward to spending time on the pond with his five children and nine grandchildren. It is their hope that someday, one of their children will take over the operation of the farm and continue the conservation practices they initiated.