Nov. 6, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

National 4-H Organization Honors W.Va. State University Staff Members

INSTITUTE, W.Va.– For the first time, two West Virginia State University staff members have received national recognition for outstanding service in 4-H Youth Development from the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents (NAE4-HA).

Paul Henderson, 4-H extension agent, was recognized with the Achievement in Service Award, acknowledging early career professional accomplishments. William Woodrum, associate dean and associate director of WVSU Extension Service, received the Distinguished Service Award for career efforts in youth development programming. Awards were announced at the NAE4-HA annual conference in Orlando, Fla., in October.

“These awards coming to WVSU Extension Service for the first time are a real recognition of the quality programming being produced here at State,” said Kelli Batch, program leader for 4-H Youth Development.

WVSU Extension Service has been offering innovative 4-H programming since 2001, adopting a non-traditional approach focusing on youth arts initiatives and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education.

4-H is the nation’s largest youth development organization, reaching more than six million youth in urban neighborhoods, suburban schoolyards and rural farming communities across the country. NAE4-HA is a professional organization for those dedicated to promoting, strengthening, enhancing and advocating for the 4-H youth development profession.

West Virginia State University is a public, land grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi‐generational institution, located in Institute, WV. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.

-WVSU-