2013-14 Alumni Award Recipients

All four members of the Horsley family of Land of Promise Farms in Virginia Beach, Va., were honored on March 21 at the Inn at Virginia Tech and at the Skelton Conference Center as the 2013-2014 inductees into the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Hall of Fame.

Donald and Diane Horsley, in addition to their two sons Shane and Ryan, received the award for their longstanding commitment to agriculture in the state and at Virginia Tech.

“We value the strong relationship the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has with the Horsley family,” said Alan Grant, dean of the college. “The Horsley’s have been great supporters of Virginia Tech and they continue to have a positive impact on our academic, research, and Extension programs.”

The Horsley’s operate Land of Promise Farms, a successful farming operation in Virginia Beach that produces soybeans, corn, wheat, swine, and beef cattle. The family also has local agricultural enterprises that include sweet corn and pecans. Their swine enterprise supplies project pigs to Virginia Cooperative Extension 4-Hers around the state and beyond. 

The Horsleys have been continuously active members of agricultural and civic engagement in the city of Virginia Beach for decades and have received numerous awards for stewardship of agricultural endeavors throughout the state. Most recently, in 2011 Don Horsley was recognized as the Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year for Virginia, and collectively the entire family was awarded the Virginia Beach Excellence in Agriculture Award in 2013. The same year the Horsleys hosted the Virginia Agricultural Expo on their farm in conjunction with Virginia Cooperative Extension.

Donald received his B.S. in animal science in 1970. Sons Shane and Ryan also had successful academic careers at Virginia Tech. Both received B.S. and M.S. degrees in animal and poultry sciences from the university and have also served as key players at the university’s numerous agricultural events and in myriad initiatives. The two sons’ have been extensively involved in the teaching, research, and Extension missions of Virginia Tech as guest lecturers for animal and poultry sciences classes, on-farm research trials with college researchers, livestock judging, and other Extension programs.

Kimberly Lane Tabor Kreitlow of Apex, N.C., received the Outstanding Recent Alumni award during the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences recent award ceremony.

Lane earned her Ph.D. in entomology in 2004 from Virginia Tech and received the award for her extensive research and forensic work in the field.

“We are pleased to present this award to Dr. Kreitlow for her significant achievements,” said Alan Grant, dean of the College. “Her work has had a lasting impact on the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, and she continues to make significant contributions to the field of forensic entomology.”

She began her journey in entomology by studying bees and beekeeping, managing hives at North Carolina State University and organizing many exhibits throughout the state, as well as volunteering with at-risk youth to introduce them to agriculture.

As a Ph.D. student at Virginia Tech, Lane’s academic focus turned to forensic entomology and she became the first person to earn a degree in the subject area from the university. Today she is considered a pioneer for women in the field, and garnered a prestigious award from the Philanthropic Educational Organization in 2003 for her scholarship.

“Kimberly Lane has demonstrated leadership in her field and provided useful service to our department and to the society at large,” said Carlyle Brewster, professor of entomology. “We are grateful to her for helping to make our department a leader in forensic entomology and feel that she is truly deserving of recognition.”

In addition, Lane authored a chapter in one of the most respected books in the field of forensic entomology in 2010. The book, “Forensic Entomology: The Utility of Arthropods in Legal Investigations” has become a premiere reference on forensic entomology for both professionals and students.

She currently teaches at North Carolina State University as an adjunct assistant professor and has served as an expert witness in forensic entomology in 17 civil and criminal cases.

Jackline Bonabana-Wabbi, ’03, ‘08 of Kampala, Uganda, was selected as the 2013-14 Outstanding Alumna in International Programs.  Jackline received both of her graduate degrees from the department of agricultural and applied economics and then returned to Uganda where she has been active educator, researcher, and friend to Virginia Tech.  She currently is a lecturer in the department of agribusiness and natural resource economics at Makerere University in Kampala Uganda.  Jackie also serves as her department’s graduate program coordinator, the chairperson of the research and publications committee, a member of the research and higher degrees committee, and has served as acting department head.  With extensive involvement in externally funded research projects, she is the economist working on climate change modeling in the region funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  Jackie has continued to be extensively involved with Virginia Tech research efforts in East Africa since her graduation.  She is principal investigator on Virginia Tech’s Integrated Pest Management Collaboration Research Support Program and collaborates both with Virginia Tech faculty and graduate students on project research efforts in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.  Her participation in this program has been a key factor in our university’s ability to obtain sustained funding for this research in East Africa.  Jackie has facilitated research efforts of other Virginia Tech projects in Uganda including activities of Virginia Tech’s Office of International Research, Education, and Development.  Jackline is always ready to assist Virginia Tech faculty, students, and alumni when they are in Uganda, even when she does not have formal responsibilities in their research projects.