Dr. Michael Kanyi, agriculture professor at Imperial Valley College, shows a collection of insect specimen to students during his Principles of Entomology class at IVC.
Photo by Joselito N. Villero (courtesy of IV Alive) 

For Shelby Trimm, executive director of the Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association, her path into an agricultural career began as a youth who took an interest in raising animals for show through the California Mid-Winter Fair & Fiesta, and through her involvement with 4-H, and then Future Farmers of America (FFA) in high school.

The Imperial Valley native, who also has the dual role of leading the local Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business organization, didn’t come from an agricultural background. Her mother works in insurance and her father in the geothermal industry.

On her own, Trimm found a passion for agriculture that led her to pursue a degree in agricultural education from

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Dr. Oli Bachie, director of the University of California Cooperative Extension program in the Imperial Valley, shows Rhodes grass productivity during a field day. Rhodes grass is an experimental crop introduced in the low desert by the Cooperative Extension, and it is showing itself to be a highly resilient crop for the dry desert conditions. Photo courtesy of the University of California Cooperative Extension

On a stretch of highway between El Centro and Holtville, nestled among green farm fields, is the home of the University of California Cooperative Extension, where research critical to ensuring Imperial Valley crops and livestock remain healthy is conducted daily.

For Dr. Oli Bachie, director of the Cooperative Extension, it is a non-stop challenge to apply research to such key issues as pest control, food safety and water management to address the unique needs of Imperial Valley agriculture.

There is a great deal at

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Major Jessica Doria (right) of The Salvation Army, El Centro office, shares a moment with Maria Hernandez, 94, of El Centro, who has been a bell ringer for The Salvation Army for 10 years. Hernandez, who said her faith guides her service as a bell ringer, is stationed at the El Centro Vons Monday through Friday throughout the holiday season.

For Maria Hernandez, the holiday season is a special time for many reasons, but there is one tradition that makes this time of year even more meaningful for the 94-year-old El Centro resident.

Hernandez is a bell ringer for The Salvation Army—has been for the last ten years.

Every day, Monday through Friday, no matter how warm or cold, she takes her spot in front of her city’s Vons and begins the work that she believes brings hope to all those greeted with the sound of her bell

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