Gilmer County Extension Agent Jennifer Shirey Moving Closer to Home
Gilmer County Extension Service Agent, Mrs. Jennifer Shirey has decided to work closer to home.
She has accepted the position of 4-H Youth Development Extension Agent in Taylor County.
She will be starting in this new position on June 01, 2010.
Jenny said, “I made the decision to apply for this position when it opened in January due to the proximity to my home and my child. My son is very important to me, and it is hard on the both of us when my office is an hour away. This opportunity in Taylor County is only 20 minutes from my home.”
Following is the letter she sent to Extension Service Committee:
“On May 5th, 2010 I accepted the position of 4-H Youth Development Extension Agent in Taylor County. I will be starting in this new position on June 1st, 2010 and will no longer be the 4-H Youth Development Extension Agent in Gilmer County.
I made the decision to apply for this position due to the proximity to my home and my child. We all wear many different hats in our lives. Aside from the hat I wear as the Extension Agent, I also wear the hat of a mother of a young child. My son is very important to me, and it is hard on the both of us when my office is an hour away. This opportunity in Taylor County is only 20 minutes from my home.
Since February of 2008, I have served as the 4-H Youth Development Extension Agent in Gilmer County. During that time, I have met many wonderful people and had opportunities to work with numerous programs reaching the communities in Gilmer County. I especially want to stress the great potential that lies within the children involved in the 4-H Youth Development programs. I have seen so much from the youth during the past two years that makes me very proud to be associated with them. It saddens me that I will not be able to continue to watch them grow and mature on the county level. I hope to continue to see a large presence of Gilmer County 4-H members at state and national events in the future.
I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be the 4-H Youth Development Extension Agent in Gilmer County. I appreciate the support you have given me and the WVU Extension Service in Gilmer County. This experience has helped me grow both professionally and personally. Continue to keep up the good work.
Due to the timing of my position change, I will be returning to Gilmer County on June 3rd and June 5th to tag the animals for the Gilmer County Farm Show. The State 4-H Office will be sending a faculty member to assist with 4-H camp and Energy Express.“
Mrs. Shirey has been one of the most active agents Gilmer County has had, and she will be greatly missed.
Following is a summary of her accomplishments in Gilmer County:
4-H Clubs
• 9 Clubs received their 4-H Club Charter in 2008. In 2009, 1 Club received their 4-H Club Charter (Linn Lone Stars) and 6 clubs retained their charters from the previous year.
• Currently there are 7 Community Clubs (Cedarville Centurions, Cox’s Mills Tail Twisters, Glenville Gators, Gilmer Green Clovers, Linn Lone Stars, Sand Fork Seminoles, Troy Trailblazers)
• Currently there are 3 Special interest 4-H Clubs (Shooting Sports, Teen Leaders, Glenville State College Collegiate 4-H Club)
• For 2009-2010, there was 1 School Enrichment Club
o Mrs. Loftis’ 3rd grade at Sand Fork Elem. (Know Your State)
• For 2009-2010, there are 83 Members enrolled in 4-H clubs & 18 Cloverbuds enrolled
• Currently there are 53 Volunteers, 10 additional pending approval
Camps
• 69 4-H members attended county camp in 2008, 64 youth in 2009, and there are currently 61 youth signed up for camp in 2010.
o 7 members received their charting pin in 2008 or 2009.
• Jenny started a week long day camp held at Cedar Creek State Park in 2008. 19 Cloverbuds participated in 2008 and 17 Cloverbuds in 2009. Planning for Day Camp 2010 is underway. It will have an agriculture theme.
County Activities
• Alternative Spring Break—For the past two school years, Jenny has offered an afternoon of activities for youth in Gilmer County during the school’s spring break.
o BUBBLEMANIA! (April 16, 2009) – 25 youth (K-6th) participated in activities about bubbles for 3 hours.
o Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (April 6, 2010) – 10 youth (K-6th) and 4 teen leaders participated in activities about recycling for 3 hours. There is a great video about the event available on the website. Participants will be able to complete the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle 4-H Project book for the 2010 Farm Show.
• Jenny has put a lot of work in increasing participation in the County 4-H Roundup over the past 3 years.
o County Roundup 2008 – 4 individuals competed in visual presentations/public speech contests (3 qualified to represent Gilmer County at the State Competition)
o County Roundup 2009— The program was expanded to include an art show, poster contest, pledge contest, talent show, and a cookie cook off. There were 18 participants with 32 exhibits
3 individuals competed in visual presentations contest (1 qualified to represent Gilmer County at the State Competition)
1 individual competed in the public speech contest and qualified to represent Gilmer County at the State Competition
o County Roundup 2010—This year’s event had 28 participants with 80 exhibits.
3 individuals competed in visual presentations contest (2 qualified to represent Gilmer County at the State Competition)
1 individual competed in the public speech contest and qualified to represent Gilmer County at the State Competition
• Jenny has served as the Teen Leader Advisor since June 2008. The Teen Leaders went on a camping trip to Pocahontas County in June 2009. They visited Cass, Green Bank Observatory, Pearl S. Buck House, Cranberry Glades, Droop Mountain, and Bear Town during their 3 day adventure.
• Soccer—During the fall, 106 youth (K-6th) participated in the soccer program on Saturdays at the Gilmer County Recreation Center. There was a skills clinic for youth and adults on March 20, 2010 at Sand Fork Elementary School that was very well attended.
• In October 2008, the 4-H program hosted a Fall Festival that over 60 individuals participated in to kick off the 2008-2009 4-H year with a variety of educational activities at the Recreation Center
• In May 2009, the International 4-H Youth Exchange (IFYE) did her presentation at all 4 elementary schools and the Gilmer County Senior Center about her trip to Austria and Germany. Jenny has scheduled the 2010 IFYE to be present at Gilmer County 4-H Camp this summer.
State Events
• State Camps
o 1 Gilmer County 4-H member attended Older Members Conference in 2008.
o 11 Gilmer County 4-H members attended Alpha I in 2008 and 10 attended in 2009. Sophia Youngs was Chief of the Seneca Tribe in 2009. There are 5 signed up to attend Alpha I this summer. There is still time to register through June 4th.
o 2 Gilmer County 4-H members attended Alpha II in 2008 and 1 attended in 2009. There are 2 signed up to attend Alpha II this summer. There is still time to register through June 4th.
o 3 Gilmer County 4-H members and 2 volunteers attended Young Adult Conference in 2009 and 2 members attended in 2010.
• Shooting Sports
o 4 volunteers were trained in shooting sports disciplines in 2008, 1 volunteer and 1 member were trained in August 2009, and 1 volunteer was trained in February 2010.
o Jenny has worked with the Pioneer Shooting Sports 4-H Club to provide them with the equipment needed to offer the 6 shooting sports disciplines in Gilmer County. The club has a trailer to haul their equipment to practice each month. They can offer: Archery, Air Rifle, Air Pistol, Shot Gun, Black Powder, and Wildlife Conservation.
o Jenny worked with a committee of Extension Faculty members to secure the Gilmer County Recreation Center as the site of the first state shooting sports weekend. It was held April 3-5, 2009. 66 youth and 32 adults (instructors or chaperones) participated. The Recreation Center was a great location and a second weekend was held April 16-18, 2010. There is a great video about the event available on the website.
• State 4-H Days
o In 2008, 2 4-H members competed in visual presentation/public speech contests at State 4-H Day. One received a blue ribbon and the other received a gold ribbon.
o The state reorganized the State 4-H Days in 2009. The 2 qualifying 4-H members competed in visual presentation/public speech contests. One received a red ribbon and the other received a gold ribbon. Three other 4-H members competed in other competitions during the events in 2009.
o There are 3 4-H members who qualifying to compete this summer in visual presentation/public speech contests. There are other members and clubs interested in visiting the campus of WVU to participate in the other events.
• State 4-H Weekend Events
o Volunteer Leaders Weekend—1 volunteer attended Volunteer Leaders Weekend in 2009. Marge Burke received a 50 year volunteer plague and Priscilla Bailey was recognized as the Outstanding 4-H Volunteer from Gilmer County.
o Teen Leader Weekend—Jenny attended this weekend with the youth in both 2009 and 2010 teaching workshops and serving as a cabin counselor. Three Teen Leaders attended in 2009 and one attended in 2010 .
o 4-H University—In 2009, one volunteer and two members attended the weekend training. They learned about skill-a-thons, entrepreneurship, and recreation.
o Dance Weekend—One volunteer and 4 members participated in 2009. One volunteer and 5 members participated in 2010.
o “Building a Better Team” training—2 volunteers and 2 members participated in April 2008 at Jackson’s Mill
o Each year, 4-H members and families can visit WVU and attend a WVU Basketball game. Gilmer County had 11 individuals participate in 2009 and 16 individuals participate in 2010.
• WV State Fair –In 2008, 9 members exhibited 4-H projects at the WV State Fair and 20 members exhibited 4-H projects in 2009. The 4-H projects will be collected soon for the 2010 WV State Fair.
• All Stars—In 2009, 1 4-H volunteer was inducted into 4-H All Stars and 2 4-H members were inducted into 4-H All Stars in 2010.
• Day at the Legislature—In 2009, 18 individuals (4-H, CEOS, Master Gardeners) participated in this event. In 2010, ten 4-H members and volunteers attended. They met with Delegates Boggs and Walker and visited the Clay Center.
National Events
• Jenny chaperoned the Land Judging team to Oklahoma for the National Contest. The Senior Land Judging Team placed 8th in the National contest in May 2008.
• 4-H Resumes – Two Gilmer County 4-H members submitted 4-H resumes in 2009 and were selected to represent West Virginia at National 4-H Congress (November 2009) and National 4-H Conference (April 2010). Three Gilmer County 4-H members have submitted 4-H resumes this year. Selections will be made during Older Members Conference.
Youth Development
Energy Express 2008
• 34 children enrolled attended 15+ days
Average daily attendance of 28.6 kids
50% eligible for free and reduced priced meals
14.7% with IEPs (Individual Educational Plans)
5.9% minority
• 81 family and community members served as volunteers
7 parents, 4 siblings, 6 other family members, 6 community youth, 58 community adults
12 youth volunteers—14.8%, 69 adult volunteers—85.1%
569.5 hours of volunteer time
52.4% of time devoted to children’s reading and writing
Energy Express 2009
• 33 children enrolled 15+ days for Energy Express at Glenville State College
o Average Daily Attendance was 29.36 youth
o 60% eligible for free and reduced priced meals
o 24.2% with IEPs (Individual Educational Plans)
o 6.1% minority
• 56 total volunteers gave 1113 total hours to the site
o 3 siblings, 4 other family members, 21 community youth, 25 community adults
o 27 youth volunteers—48.2%, 29 adult volunteers—51.8%
o 47.5% of time devoted to children’s reading and writing
Energy Express 2010
• There will be a site at Glenville State College from June 22nd to July 31st
o Nancy McVaney will be the site supervisor. There are 4 Americorps mentors and a Community Coordinator for the site.
o Enrollment is underway for the 32 slots.
o Donations are being received to help cover the costs of the Summer Foods program. To date, $1035 has been donated to Energy Express and the program could use more donations. The Extension Office will start received “Found Items” on June 1st. A list of “Found Items” can be found in the newsletter or it is available from the Extension Office.
Health Rocks!
• Piloted two activities at Gilmer County High School in a 7th/8th grade Health Class in the Fall of 2008.
• Evaluations sent to University of Nebraska for their program development
Families and Health
Community Educational Outreach Service (CEOS)
• 5 Community CEOS Clubs (Baldwin, Conings, Cox’s Mills, Kanawha Drive, Lockney)
• For 2010, 64 Members enrolled in a Club, 2 Mailbox Members
• Held annual picnic in August and Holiday House in December
• Jenny held several training workshops for CEOS lessons: Chicken Scratch Workshop at the FRN in June 2008, Basket Workshop in February 2009, and Candlewicking Workshop in October 2009.
• Weston Area meeting: 16 members attended the Weston Area meeting in 2008, 9 members attended in 2009, and 9 members attended in 2010.
• Approximately 100 Boo Bears and Boo Bunnies were distributed to the following organizations in May 2009: Gilmer County Sheriff, Minnie Hamilton, Glenville Police, Gilmer EMS, Dr. Miller, State Police, and Gilmer Firefighters.
• For May 2010, CEOS clubs have been participating in the “S is for Soldiers” project. They have been collecting and organizing care packages for soldiers overseas as well as collecting items for the VA hospital in Clarksburg. The CEOS clubs were joined by 4-H clubs and local churches in their efforts.
• Ann Nestor serves as the Weston Area representative.
• Jenny wrote the March 2010 activity for the statewide CEOS Health Motivator program and she will be writing the May 2011 activity.
• The Gilmer County Commission signed a proclamation to observe CEOS week during the week of May 16-22nd, 2010.
• The CEOS International Student, Ye Tao visited Gilmer County and gave a presentation about her home country of China on May 18th, 2010.
Strong Families Eat Together
• Provided the program for Hands of Pride Child Care Center in April 2009.
o The program has won several awards:
WVU Extension Award of Excellence in 2009 for “New Program Excellence”
Excellence in Educational Package Team Award from the WV Association of Extension 4-H Agents
2010 Communication Team Award from the WV Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
• Jenny will be presenting this program along with two other Extension Agents as a program seminar for the NAE4-HA conference in Phoenix, AZ this fall.
Wednesday Wellness Walks
• From April to October 2009, the Extension Office promoted walking at the Sue Morris Sport Complex on Wednesdays during the lunch hour. 9 individuals walked at least one Wednesday during that time period.
• For 2010, Bessie Welch has merged the wellness walks with a CEOS walking program. Bessie registered 6 CEOS members, mainly from the Kanawha Drive club, to establish the Walk Across West Virginia program that the state CEOS is promoting in 2010. The program ran each Wednesday for 6 weeks at the Sue Morris Sports Complex during the lunch hour.
Food Preservation Workshop
• End of July 2009, 15 individuals from Gilmer, Calhoun, Roane, and Ritchie counties received instruction at the Calhoun-Gilmer Career Center on freezing, water bath canning, and pressure canning.
Dining with Diabetes
• Scheduled the program for January 2010. Cancelled due to low enrollment.
Family Nutrition Program (FNP)
• Jenny has worked with the Family Nutrition Program to secure a Nutrition Outreach Instructor (NOI) for Gilmer County.
• In February 2010, Angela Kraus, a youth NOI with the FNP program in Braxton County, started a 7-8 week series at Glenville Elementary School for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.
• Angela will be responsible for the youth FNP program for Braxton and Gilmer Counties. She hopes to be in all 4 elementary schools in 2009-2010.
Chronic Disease Treatment and Prevention Coalition (CDTPC)
• As a member of the CDTPC, Jenny has helped with a grant for Diabetes that will training instructors in the program “Gentle Yoga for All”
• Another grant with this coalition provided a “Lunch and Learn” at the Recreation Center in November on Alzheimer’s disease.
Germ City/The Germ Stops Here
• Provided Germ City for a Small World Day Care in July 2008, at the Gilmer County Farm Show in September 2008, and at the 4-H Fall Festival in October 2008.
• Jenny and Bessie have received training in the new program, The Germ Stops Here.
o Bessie has presented this program during the spring of 2010 to 4 groups reaching a total of 48 youth and 8 adults. She is scheduled to present the program as 4-H camp this summer.
o Jenny presented the program at the Gilmer County Senior Center’s recent health fair for 19 adults.
Agriculture
Gilmer County Farm Show 2008• 24 4-H/FFA members & 13 adults participated in the livestock shows
• 55 individuals exhibited in the agricultural produce, foods, homemaking, and crafts categories
• 2 FFA members exhibited produce
• 29 4-H members exhibited 41 completed projects & 5 Cloverbuds exhibited their books
• $8740 in livestock sales for 17 animals ($1320 resale to support Barn Building Fund)
• $1000 grant received from the Farm Service Agency
• $500 increase of state funding from the legislature
Gilmer County Farm Show 2009
• 64 youth and 55 adults participated in the Gilmer County Farm Show
• 42 4-H members exhibited 109 completed projects & 11 Cloverbuds exhibited their books
• $16,120 in livestock sales for 28 animals ($1795 in resales to support various funds)
• $1000 grant received from the Farm Service Agency
Gilmer County Farm Show 2010• Rabbit Showmanship and Market Chickens have been added to the 2010 Farm Show for 4-H/FFA exhibitors.
• A Poultry Workshop was held for all exhibitors and interested individuals on March 11th. It was well attended.
• Rabbit Showmanship workshop will occur over the summer.
• Tagging of the Youth Market Animals will occur on Thursday, June 3rd and Saturday June 5th at the Gilmer County Recreation Center.
Master Gardeners
• In 2008, they received a grant from Communities 4 Development to revitalized the flower beds around the Glenville Post Office
• In 2009, they received a Green Thumb grant to provide raised beds for Glenville Rehabilitation Center
• Community Service Hours—206 Hours of community service provided in 2008 and 166.75 Hours of community service provided in 2009.
State Livestock Events
• Stockman’s Contest at Beef Expo
o 2008—Junior Team placed 9th out of 28 teams
o 2009 –Senior Team placed 27th out of 71 teams with 4 members, Junior Team placed 3rd out of 4 teams with 3 members
o 2010—Junior Team A placed 27th out of 41 teams. Junior Team B placed 31st out of 41 teams.
• Junior Preview Heifer Show – Seven 4-H members participated in 2008 and four 4-H members participated in 2009.
• WV State Fair Livestock Shows—Six 4-H members participated in 2008 and three 4-H members participated in 2009.
• WV Livestock Roundup—22 members participated in 2008 and 12 4-H members participated in 2009. In 2008, Gilmer County 4-H had the 2nd place team in the Beef Bowl –Junior Division.
Private Pesticide Applicators
• Provided recertification training in December 2008 & 2009
