Say it Isn't So!!

It is extremely hard for me to believe that this is my last day at the Morgan County Cooperative Extension Service office.  I have been very fortunate to spend the summer with such a great group of people.  After my first internship I thought that I had figured out what extension is and had a pretty good understanding of all that they do.  This summer completely disproved that assumption, and did so quickly.  Every day is a new day in extension and every day presents new and different situations.  I've heard many people say that you never stop learning, and I believe that the Extension Service is a prime example of that.  I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the youth of Morgan County this summer.  Watching them grow and experience new things in such a short amount of time has been very rewarding. 

The past couple of weeks have been full of events and meetings, the few weeks right before school starts always seem to be extremely busy.  On July 27th we held the annual summer event Safe Night.  Morgan County is one of the few remaining counties to still host Safe Night, and the community always looks forward to it.  I was given a lot of leadership responsibilities during and before Safe Night and enjoyed seeing the community enjoy something that I had a hand in creating.  I have also been working with our first ever Horticulture and Poultry Judging teams!  I am very excited that this new activity has been developed during my time here.  Throughout July we have traveled to Magoffin County for practice workshops and held practice sessions here in the office.  It has been my responsibility to make sure everyone is on track and properly preparing for the State Fair.  The kids are having a blast and already say they're serious about competing in the future.  Even though today is my last day I have already committed to traveling to Louisville with them for the State Fair competitions.  I'm looking forward to seeing how they do their first time after all the practice we've put in!  Tomorrow we are co-hosting another community wide event called Market in the Park.  This event has been held for about four years now and was actually started by another intern.  You can really tell that this county respects and appreciates the work interns do during their summers employed here.  Each year it continues to grow and this year is no exception!  I am helping the Ag. agent gather supplies for a chef cook-off and registering all the vendors.  The chefs will use locally grown and produced supplies in their recipes and will cook the dish at the park in front of all the event attendees.  It's going to be really fun to see them in action!  So, as you can tell, even though today is my "last" day employed here, I am still going to be around for a few more things. 

This summer has truly been one to remember.  I have grown both personally and professionally through this experience.  I have volunteered and been involved with 4-H activities in the past, however, there is definitely a large difference between being a volunteer/participant and being in charge and organizing a 4-H event.  I now have a better understanding of what a 4-H agent does and what is required of them.  I certainly hope that my time with extension is not over and look forward to what the future holds!!