Iowa 4-H Alumni & Friends

In response to a question posed by a volunteer, we thought you might be interested in knowing what is being done to help the local county Extension staff transition to a new Extension structure in Iowa. Here is the response from Joe Leisz, Executive Director of the Iowa 4-H Foundation. I read the editorial from the Register and have had the opportunity to attend two of the listening sessions where extension director Jack Payne discussed the budget situation, background, and decisions that were made. I've also had the chance to visit with many of our County Extension Education Directors and Area Extension Education Directors -- this is a rough time personally for many of them and anything we can do to listen and help and provide personal support is important to do. Our 4-H Foundation, under the leadership of our president, Dennis Goering, and trustees like Rozanne King and Barb Determan (among others) took the lead to limit the budget cuts dealt to 4-H, and they are continuing with

While many 4-H clubs, volunteers and staff from across the state came together to overcome the disasters of 2008, we received many stories regarding the impact of these efforts. Despite the disarray caused by the disasters, 4-H youth and families were able to overcome these challenges and help those in their communities and around the state. Click on the comments below to read these heart-warming stories.