FROM STAFF REPORTS
PATRICK HODGES JR.
While he hasn’t been in the seed business for 20 years, Patrick Hodges Jr. has been named the 2024 Honorary Member by the Seed Trade Association of Arizona for his longtime and continuing support of the organization.
“It is an honor,” he said of the recognition. “I have my foot off the seed industry, but I keep my
nger in it. I go to the annual spring conferences and attend the meetings. I keep up with a lot of
rst-hand knowledge through my brother and sons.” (His brother and one son are in the seed business, another son is in crop production).
In addition, his wife, Tanya, has been the regional academic programs manager for the University of Arizona in Yuma for several years. In that role, she has been heavily involved in STAA’S scholarship program and serves as an ex of cio member of the board. She was recently named the executive director of the Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture.
Hodges was a charter member of Arizona’s Seed Trade Association founded in 1992, served as an original board member of the organization and was president in 1995.
His father, P.K. Hodges, who died in 2017, also had been involved in STAA over the years and was recognized as STAA’S Honorary Member in 2005.
The younger Hodges obtained a bachelor’s degree in agriculture plant science from the University of Arizona in 1985 and began his career as a sales representative in Yuma and Imperial Valley for H&H Seed Company. The company had been founded by his father and Phil Hornung in 1979 and became noted for its Bermuda grass seed program.
In 1999, Hodges became the owner and president of H&H Seed as well as Southwest Transplants, the rst seedling transplant business in the desertsouthwest. H&;H Seed was sold in 2003 to Barkley Seed.
Since then, Hodges has been the agricultural land specialist in Yuma and Imperial Valley for A.T. Pancrazi Real Estate Services. With his background in agriculture, he brings a strong understanding of all aspects of agricultural land use to the table for both owners and buyers.
“My job today … a lot of it I credit back to my time in the seed industry,” he said. “The networking, raising crops on various soils. I gained an understanding of microclimates and soils. It all comes together nicely. The seed industry is in my blood. I cut my teeth on my career in it 40 years ago.”
MEGAN KEUCHEL
The Foundation of YRMC announced registered nurse Megan Keuchel as the 2024 recipient of the Diana Karina Robles Lizarraga Memorial Scholarship. Keuchel has served as a nurse at Yuma Regional Medical Center since 2012, working in both the neonatal intensive care and the intensive care unit.
Keuchel also served as a YRMC junior volunteer during high school. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, specializing in adult-gerontology acute care at the University of Arizona.
“With nearly 12 years of experience as a nurse at YRMC, I have had the honor of providing care in the intensive care unit and have enjoyed working in my hometown,” Keuchel said. “As our community grows and advancements in healthcare are made, I plan to continue to be active in making positive changes and incorporating evidence-based practice to ensure that our community and its visitors receive the best care. Not only do these scholarships relieve the
nancial burden of continuing education, but it motivates me to want to continue giving back to YRMC and to honor those who the scholarships memorialize.”
The Diana Karina Robles Lizarraga Memorial Scholarship honors Diana, a YRMC ICU nurse who loved mentoring young nurses. Patients loved her, peers learned from her and doctors respected her. Her loved ones established this scholarship in recognition of her enthusiasm for education and dedication to her fellow nurses. The scholarship recipient is announced each year onrobles Lizarraga’s birthday, April 20.
“Congratulations to Megan on being selected for this scholarship. We know Diana would be proud of your shared commitment to advancing healthcare in our community and caring for your patients, especially in the ICU. Today we recognize both Megan and Diana for their dedication,” YRMC stated.