USU Extension Joins National 4-H Week Celebrations

Across the nation, Extension’s 4-H program touts prestigious alumni. Among them are Dolly Parton, Sissy Spacek, Reba McEntire, “Garfield” cartoonist Jim Davis, Olympic gold-medal wrestler Rulon Gardner and Olympic track-and-field star Stacy Dragila. As part of National 4-H Week Oct. 7-13, Utah State University Extension features several Utah 4-H alumni and tells where they are today.

 

On Nov. 5, 2003, Olene S. Walker was sworn in as the first female governor of Utah after former Gov. Mike Leavitt resigned his office to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Walker served as governor until the end of Leavitt's term on Jan. 3, 2005.

 

Walker and her husband, Myron, are currently serving as public affairs missionaries to the United Nations for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

 

Walker has been heavily involved with 4-H in Utah. As a participant, she represented Utah at a national 4-H competition in fashion revue.

 

Walker's political background includes eight years in the state legislature, including a term as Majority Whip. She founded the Salt Lake Education Foundation and served as its director. She also served as director of the Utah Division of Community Development. She has chaired the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, the Utah State Housing Coordinating Committee, the Governor's Commission on Child Care and the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors.

 

Walker was born in Ogden. She received her bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees from Brigham Young University, Stanford University and the University of Utah respectively. She is the mother of seven children and is grandmother to 25.

 

 

Heather Anderson is spreading her drug abuse prevention message throughout the state as the current Miss Utah USA 2007. She went on to place sixth in the nation at Miss USA. She works extensively with the Utah Council for Crime Prevention as a board member and is a spokesperson for D.A.R.E. She is also on the National McGruff Board.

 

Anderson was active in 4-H, raising pigs for the Salt Lake County Fair and serving as a Salt Lake County Teen Ambassador. Anderson won state in talent and public speaking. A graduate of Alta High, she performed in school plays and musicals, ran track and played basketball. She also spent many summers performing on the stage at the Pickleville Playhouse in Bear Lake.

 

“For me, 4-H really was a turning point,” she said. “It was the first place I was noticed, and I really came out of my shell and had the chance to shine. Without it helping me show my talents and abilities, I might not have been able to go on to other things, including Miss Utah USA.

 

Anderson attended Utah State University where she majored in social science with an emphasis in psychology. She is currently working as a runway model, where she has walked for Diesel, Louis Vuitton and others.

 

 

Since December 2006, Rodney Roberts has served as the human resources director for GE Healthcare in China. He manages a team of 25 human resource managers and specialists who provide human resource support for the entire business.

 

Roberts works extensively with leadership development, recruitment, employee relations and organization design and structure. GE Healthcare has approximately 3,000 employees and does about $600 million in business in China each year.

 

 

Arthur Graham, a superintendent in Springfield, Ohio, is believed to be the founder of 4-H. He gathered some 85 children ranging in age from 10 to 15 in the basement of the local courthouse on Jan.15, 1902. Their first projects: food preservation, testing for soil acidity and growing corn and potatoes. Within three years, there were 20 clubs in the state with 1,038 members.

 

Today, there are about 7 million youths ages 5-19 who participate in 4-H in all 50 states, territories and U.S. Army installations worldwide and approximately 500,000 volunteers.

 

Since its inception, 4-H has changed with America. When the organization was founded in 1902, the U.S. economy was largely agriculture-based. So, too, were many of 4-H’s programs. Today, 4-H has a presence in every county in America and offers more than 1,000 programs ranging from robotics and biotechnology to skateboarding, plants and animals.

 

The one thing that has remained unchanged about 4-H is the reliance on volunteer leaders who teach 4-H students life-long skills centered on teamwork, citizenship and the benefits of community service.

 

For further information about Utah 4-H, visit its Web site.

 

Writer: Jacob Roskelley, 435-797-0810