A textiles and clothing professor was honored as “Bobbin Educator of the Year” at a conference in New Mexico last week.

Janis Stone, also an Extension specialist, is the chairwoman of the Extension Outreach Committee for the International Textiles and Apparel Association, the organization that sponsored the award. Stone has been a member of ITAA since 1996.

“It is a very special award, and I feel honored to receive it,” she said. “This award is very prestigious, and the organization has a committee to pick the winner.”

Stone was presented with a trophy and $1,000 on Friday at the ITAA annual conference in Santa Fe, N.M.

She turned the money over to the ITAA for scholarship and outreach.

“This way, the money can be used to benefit others in the industry,” she said.

The theme of this year’s ITAA conference was “Encountering Cultures: Making Connections.”

“As a result of the cultural theme, I learned more about Spanish and Native Americans, which was really interesting to me,” Stone said.

The Bobbin award is presented each year to a faculty member of ITAA who has made outstanding contributions through teaching, research or service.

Recipients must demonstrate exemplary and innovative contributions in the textiles and apparel field.

“Bobbin magazine is a highly respected periodical publication in the apparel industry,” Stone said.

A colleague from Ohio in the ITAA nominated Stone for the award, she said, and this is the first time anyone with an Extension appointment has received the award.

Stone also has received the Iowa Board of Regents Award for Faculty Excellence, the Iowa State University Award for Outstanding Achievement in Extension and recently was awarded the Iowa State University Faculty Improvement Leave for January through June of 2000.

In Stone’s 20 years at ISU, she said her duties have been somewhat varied.

Stone provides support for county Extension offices and the College of Family and Consumer Sciences answer line regarding textiles and clothing topics and questions.

She also is responsible for providing educational information on protective clothing for pesticide applicators, outreach to the textile and apparel industry and supervising about 165 4-H members in the clothing events at the Iowa State Fair.

Stone has been published in several publications. Some of her research includes protective agricultural clothing and safety hats, and she is part of a regional research team on protective clothing in occupations.

She recently has done work on the Midwest Textile and Apparel Industry Directory, a publication with listings from Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and Oklahoma.