Brian Freking on the left holds his award plaque wearing a blue and yellow tie, khaki pants, blue suit coat and white shirt. Brian Pugh on the right holds his plaque wearing a pink and black tie, pink shirt, black suit coat, black cowboy hat and khaki pants. — Brian Freking and Brian Pugh have each served as county and area specialists for more than 20 years and are well-known experts in their fields. (Photo by Mitchell Alcala, OSU Agriculture)

OSU Extension honors Freking and Pugh with Distinguished Educator Award

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Media Contact: Gail Ellis | Editorial Communications Coordinator | 405-744-9152 | gail.ellis@okstate.edu

Brian Freking and Brian Pugh received the Oklahoma State University Extension Distinguished Educator Award during the OSU Extension County Extension Director conference on Jan. 14 in Stillwater.

Damona Doye, associate vice president of OSU Extension, said Pugh and Freking have served the organization admirably in many ways, from county educator to area specialist.

“They have been great collaborators with faculty on campus while supporting county-based educators,” she said. “They have been innovative in programming and are well-known experts in their respective fields. We are grateful to them for their dedicated and outstanding leadership and service within Extension.”

Damona Doye in a black blazer and orange scarf awards Brian Freking with a plaque. He's wearing a blue and yellow tie, white shirt and blue suit coat. — Damona Doye, associate vice president of OSU Extension, recognizes Brian Freking with the Distinguished Educator Award. (Photo by Mitchell Alcala, OSU Agriculture)

Freking is the area livestock specialist for OSU Extension’s southeast district, based in Ada. Originally from northwest Iowa, he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal science from South Dakota State University and moved to Oklahoma in 1995 to work for the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture. He joined OSU Extension as a county ag educator in 2004 and moved into the area leadership role in 2011.

“I’ve always had a research background, so testing and doing projects with producers on the farm keeps me excited about the job,” Freking said. “Helping producers on a daily basis is fun. Every day is different. You never know what call you’re going to get.”

His two brothers and sister also chose professions in the agriculture field, serving clients and producers in a selfless way they learned at a young age.

“When I was 6 years old, my grandfather passed away, and his last words to me were, ‘Take care of the cows,’” Freking said. “Knowing all the farmers around the area that pitched in and got his crops in that year — that always stuck with me that neighbors help neighbors. I was imprinted with that throughout my life.”

The Distinguished Educator Award is a prestigious milestone for anyone in Extension. Freking said he’s grateful to his daughter, Jessica, and her young son for supporting him in a career that is demanding but also rewarding.

In the year ahead, he and his Extension colleagues are planning several agronomy and livestock projects, including a grazing school to educate producers on efficient rotational grazing.

A few months after Freking’s first day in OSU Extension, Pugh joined the organization in a neighboring county. His father was a 4-H and ag Extension educator, and his mother was a family and consumer sciences educator for the University of Arkansas. He grew up in 4-H in Alma, Arkansas, showing livestock, participating in speech contests and winning several state record book honors in the beef project area.

Brian Pugh receives a plaque from Damona Doye. Brian is wearing a pink shirt, pink and black tie, black suit coat and black cowboy hat. Damona is wearing a black blazer and orange scarf. — Brian Pugh receives the Distinguished Educator Award from Damona Doye, associate vice president of OSU Extension. (Photo by Mitchell Alcala, OSU Agriculture)

Pugh earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science and a master’s in agronomy from UA and then worked a few months as a research technician for the UA Extension service. In 2004, he became the ag educator and county Extension director for OSU Extension in Haskell County.

He accepted the area agronomy specialist role for the northeast district in 2012. For most of his tenure, he covered agronomy responsibilities in the southeast district. Officing in Muskogee, he has also served as the ag and natural resource program leader for the northeast district since 2020.

“I enjoy helping people and sharing research-based information that will help them be successful,” Pugh said. “My parents instilled this idea in me to have a variety of interests and be well-rounded. That suits a career in Extension well to know a little bit about a lot of different things and specialize in a few select areas. My specialty has become the interactions of forage systems with grazing livestock and pest control in forage systems.”

In addition to his parents, Pugh said Claude Bess with OSU Extension has been a devoted mentor to him through the years.

“I look up to him and other educators I met early in my career like Leland McDaniel and Ted Evicks who offered strong programs for their clientele,” he said. “Area specialists I followed like Chris Rice and Bob Woods played a big role in me having the position I do now. They encouraged me and helped me a lot.”

The father of 9- and 11-year-old sons, Pugh said it’s important they stay active in 4-H and explore project areas they enjoy.

“I know what 4-H did for me through the years,” he said. “The opportunities I had in public speaking set me apart in grad school, and once I had a career, I was someone who could talk to groups of people regardless of the size while effectively conveying information.

“The first 20 years in Extension have flown by, and I continue to enjoy my job every day.”