At Nebraska Extension’s annual conference in November, the Bruce Marxsen Memorial Excellence in Instruction Award was presented to Extension Associate Soni Cochran. This was the 1st annual national award presented by My Youth Preparedness Initiative (MyPI) National for unwavering dedication and superior instruction while achieving the mission of MyPI. Each year, one MyPI instructor is chosen from all MyPI instructors nationwide. Bruce Marxsen was a Lancaster County MyPI instructor who passed away this year. Soni is the Lancaster County MyPI coordinator and one of the instructors for the program.