Purdue News
Purdue News
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October 21, 1999 Extension educators awarded for outstanding workSource: Floyd Branson, assistant director, Cooperative Extension Service, (765) 494-8490;Floyd_Branson@ces.purdue.edu WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Indiana Extension Educators Association honored members Tuesday (10/19) during the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service annual conference on Purdue's West Lafayette campus. The Extension Service has offices in each Indiana county that are staffed by educators who specialize in four areas: agriculture and natural resources, consumer and family sciences, leadership and community development, and 4-H Youth. Trisha Hockemeyer of Adams County won the Junior Award in Consumer and Family Sciences. Over the past three years, Hockemeyer helped train more than 50 food-service employees in food safety practices. The employees came from 10 establishments, including the county jail, hospital, school corporations and nursing homes. She also taught 38 Amish women how to use proper canning techniques that accommodate the women's religious beliefs in limited technology. Mary Lou Elbert of Warrick County won the Senior Award in Consumer and Family Sciences. Elbert organized an informational program on investment clubs in her county as a way to teach Extension Homemakers about investing in stocks. Out of that grew the Warrick Women's Investment Club. The 20-member group meets monthly, receives educational information on investments, and then selects stocks to buy. Virginia Servies of Montgomery County won the Career Award in Consumer and Family Sciences. Servies has taped a weekly nutritional segment for more than 10 years on WLFI TV-18 in Lafayette. She presents information about food preparation, purchase or safety tips. According to statistics gathered by the station, the viewing audience represents 179,450 households, resulting in her information reaching an audience of more than 93 million viewers during this time period. Cindy Barnett of Whitley County won the Innovator Award in Consumer and Family Sciences for her work with the Whitley County Step Ahead program to provide eight hours of education for local child-care providers. A local grant was used to purchase curriculum materials, which were adapted and incorporated into the program. Child-care providers studied child development, child-care business aspects, nutrition, food safety, discipline and health safety. Sherri Miller of Rush County won the Bob Amick Award in 4-H and Youth Development for creating a community reader program at six elementary schools. Volunteer adult community readers represented various professions, including a mortician, dietitian, beautician, farmer, salesman and law enforcement officer. The volunteers read a preselected story once a month to every third- and fourth-grade class so that the students would learn about a different career and how reading was an important aspect of it. Diane Stouffer of Vigo County won the Senior Award in 4-H and Youth Development for launching the 4-H Livestock Ethics program to educate young 4-H swine exhibitors about ethical livestock production and showing practices. The 4-H members were shown an educational film explaining different ways to identify and evaluate animal husbandry techniques used when preparing an animal for show. They also learned about sportsmanship, both for exhibitors in the show ring and for audience members in the stands. Nearly 200 4-H swine members and parents participated in the ethics workshop. Nancy Schuman of Johnson County won the Career Award in 4-H and Youth Development. Schuman has worked for 27 years in Extension. Among her activities, she is co-chair for the state geranium 4-H fund-raiser; helps plan and conduct the Central District Judges and Leaders Clinic; has been the state fair show manager for the Horticulture Building; and was building deputy for the women's dorm at 4-H Round Up. Schuman also selects and organizes her county's 4-H Ambassadors, who are trained to promote 4-H in their schools. Dan Dunten of Tippecanoe County won the Innovator Award in 4-H and Youth Development. Dunten was instrumental in organizing a program to provide leadership opportunities for youths. The Boiler Challenge Ropes Course, a recreational leadership program, combined team-building with active problem-solving activities that called on the participants to think, plan, take risks and support each other. The 4-H junior leaders who participated enhanced their skills in communication, leadership, critical thinking, team building, and active participation. They presented what they had learned to almost every club in the county, reaching more than 800 youths. Steve Siegelin of Adams County won the Junior Award in Agricultural and Natural Resources. Siegelin worked with his Extension crops advisory committee to expand the local soybean variety trial program. He raised $12,000 to purchase two custom-built plot sprayers and an all-terrain vehicle and a trailer to assist in test plot experiments. Under his leadership, the number of soybean experiments in his county doubled. Walt Sell of LaPorte County won the Senior Award in Agricultural and Natural Resources. Sell has worked on water quality education in his county, spearheading a committee of community leaders to work with Extension specialists. They developed a publication titled "Watershed Connections, Water Resources of LaPorte County, Indiana." More than 2,000 copies have been distributed, and local schools have requested that a water quality packet be developed for classroom use. Gary Michel of Warrick County won the Career Award in Agricultural and Natural Resources. Michel is involved in many county, district and state organizations, including the Kiwanis Club, the local planning and zoning board, and the 4-H council. He maintains close contact with state legislators and has been instrumental in getting some to attend Extension meetings. Corn and soybean plot trials have been extremely important in his area, and he has worked with 41 participating seed companies, sharing information in a five-county area. Stan Sims of Lake County won the Innovator Award in Agricultural and Natural Resources. Under Sims' leadership, the Cooperative Extension Service Master Gardeners have played a significant role in a project that is not only teaching environmental awareness, but is improving the appearance of the community and schools. Master Gardeners are helping 14 schools plan and complete landscaping schemes. The Extension Service staff in Lake County also has also joined with a team of 15 businesses and organizations in forming a partnership called "Keeping Hammond Beautiful." Vickie Hadley of Allen County won the Junior Award in Leadership and Community Development. Hadley worked with resource management faculty to bring a study course about stock investing to her county. Among the 50 participants in the course were representatives from 11 investment clubs, 10 individual investors, and one investment broker. After the course, 30 of the participants planned to teach or share the information with 330 other individuals. Holly Butler of Marion County won the Senior Award in Leadership and Community Development. Butler was instrumental in developing "Spring Fling" a three-day, hands-on learning workshop for students in grades 1-12. It was designed for youths left home during breaks in the school calendar. Extension staff and 4-H volunteers conducted the sessions, which included instruction in stained glass, electricity, aerospace, cake decorating, landscape design, crafts, scrapbooking and small-animal care. Each participant had the opportunity to work on and complete their own project. The Team Award went to the Area 7 youth educators, who teamed up to rewrite the Mini 4-H manuals. These manuals are used in 41 counties. The team approach provided a comprehensive outcome, and the new manuals provide guidelines for exhibiting any age-appropriate item without duplicating traditional 4-H projects. The County Staff Award went to Tipton County staff members Jim Woolf, Terri Newcom and Penny Lee. To educate youths and families about 4-H, they started the First Year 4-H club. This club, for all first-year 4-H members and their families, met for six monthly meetings and learned about 4-H clubs, projects and the Extension Service. Seventy-six percent of the first-year 4-H members completed their first year and continued on into their second year. Writer: Beth Forbes, (765) 494-2722, bforbes@aes.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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