(Posted Oct. 15, 2018)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
Madison County’s 4-H program will have a new leader come January.
Kirsten Holt, local 4-H educator for the past three years, has resigned to pursue another career. Her last day is Oct. 15.
The Ohio State University (OSU) Extension plans to post the job opening at jobs.osu.edu by the end of this month, hold state-level interviews by the end of November, and hold county-level interviews and make a selection in December.
“The 4-H educator position can be a big job. We’re excited to bring someone on board who is really enthusiastic about 4-H in Madison County and building the program,” said Mary Griffith, Madison County OSU Extension’s agriculture and natural resources educator.
A 4-H educator provides leadership and oversight for the 4-H program in their county. They make sure advisors have the tools they need from OSU to lead their clubs, and they coordinate events, like the annual county fair, 4-H camp, and awards banquet for 4-H youth and volunteers.
“Our positions are meant to be about outreach and education,” Griffith said. “Mine focuses on agriculture. The 4-H educator position focuses on youth development.
“There are a lot of opportunities to do some different things with it. For instance, Kirsten started some school enrichment programs where she went into school classrooms to teach,” Griffith continued. “It’s up to the 4-H educator to work with the community to determine what programs to focus on.”
During the search for a new 4-H educator, Arlene Duffey, Madison County Extension’s office associate, will handle all 4-H related communications and details.
“She’s been here for 34 years, so she knows the program inside and out. We’re lucky to have her here during the vacancy and during the time when the new educator will be getting started,” Griffith said.
For more information, call the Madison County OSU Extension Office at (740) 852-0975.
