Professional Affiliations

Jim Meek and his wife Pat make their home in Ames Iowa where continues contract work with Iowa State University after retiring from a thirty year career with ISU Extension. In addition to the contract work related to substance abuse prevention research with rural youth and their families, Jim holds the position of training and research coordinator for AgriWellness, Inc. in Harlan, Iowa. AgriWellness, among other projects, manages the Sowing the Seeds of Hope program that provides behavioral health supports for the agricultural population through state partners in seven upper Midwestern states including Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Jim and Pat have one son, Craig who lives in Western Colorado. Jim and Pat enjoy trips to see Craig and other travel that provides a reprieve from the Iowa winter whenever possible.

NARMH Positions
Jim has been a NARMH member most years since presenting at the Lincoln, NE conference. Was that 1993? In addition to involvement in numerous (about ten) presentations at subsequent annual conferences, Jim has served as a member of the Planning committee for the Des Moines, IA conference and more recently, has been involved in discussions in a NARMH discussion about resurrecting the family farm coalition that was extremely effective in generating legislative action to assist recovery efforts for farm families subsequent to the crisis in the mid 1980s.

Rural Mental Health Involvement and Contributions

Jim has a fifteen year history of involvement through Iowa State University extension in contract, grant and program management of work related to highly stressed farm and rural families. Some readers may identify with these efforts including: The Iowa Rural Family Empowerment Program (1440), The FEMA/CMHS crisis counseling program offered subsequent to floods in 1993 and again in 2004, The Iowa Rural Families Program offered through mental health block grant funds, 1995-1997, and the Iowa Rural