Lessons From the Extension Office

Lessons From the Extension Office

Patrick M. McCoy, ANR

Well guys looks like this is the last day of my assignment as an extension intern. This is a bittersweet moment, as I look back at the new friends, the fun times and my favorite part, being involved in the community. This is to be my last blog post as an intern, and I would like to use an excerpt from my last article for the Clay City Times to showcase my thoughts on this great experience as an extension intern. Enjoy!

Well folks, my assignment as the Powell County Extension Intern is quickly coming to an end. This is to be the last article Ill work on with that assignment, with that being said, I’d like to take this last opportunity to relay onto you what these few months at the extension office has taught me. Let me tell you, I’ve learned a lot, met many new people and bonded more with those in the community that I already knew.

The first lesson came soon after I started at the extension office, Mike had warned me that it may take a while for some of the farmers to warm up to me. This may be the one time that I can say that Mr. Reed has never been so wrong in his life. Not only did the farmers and really everyone affiliated with the extension office or its associations take me in as if I had been an active part of extension all alone but they really opened their hearts and became good friends of mine.

The second lesson came from Family Consumer Sciences Agent Pam Dooley, as I helped her with the annual Homemakers Association. I can still hear her warning, that I am brave for helping out and that there is a good chance that I will be the only male there. I think she was concerned that I would feel out of place. In reality though I fit right in, I actually saw several familiar faces there, had a wonderful meal and made new acquaintances. If any of you know Pam, she always awards small gifts to those that help her in the operations of that association. I didn’t get away with out being called out either. As she announced that the bravery award goes to Patrick McCoy I was genuinely surprised. My award was a plastic sheriff badge and inside its plastic holder I was once again reminded of Mike Reed’s pitiful photography skills as the terrible picture of yours truly that aired in this very paper at the beginning of my internship, stared back at me. Everyone at that meeting got a good laugh at that, and its really one of my fondest memories from this experience. So from this it was reinforced that going into any meeting or conference be prepared for a little embarrassment and just have a good time.  

My third lesson is a culmination of all of the events that the Powell County Livestock Producers Association hosted or endorsed. The lesson itself being that the members of this association are some of the hardest working individuals in our community. No matter whether personal ailments or the rain put a damper on their moods, the members always showed up with a smile and did what had to be done to keep things rolling. This group of hardworking ladies and gentlemen deserve a great thanks from myself as well as anyone that they have met at events throughout our community. They truly have been a great help to extension in Powell County, even though some may still not know what extension is or what it does, most everyone here recognizes the livestock association, clad in their iconic blue shirts and a smile to go with it.

The fourth lesson is something I just observed. If you’re working in extension, you probably don’t have much room in your vehicle to haul stuff. This would be because you’re still carrying items from previous events or for the ones to come. No doubt many of you have seen extension personnel driving down the road, to or from an event with enough supplies to cater 1000 meals or educate half of Powell County on something or another. Some things are unchangeable, just as they should be. Some of the members of the Livestock Producers jokingly say that I’ve fit right in. Wonder if that’s because my vehicle is just as cluttered as Mike’s?

Fifthly, in taking a group of students to the state fair this past week I saw how much patience it takes to educate and direct children. Most of you probably remember the old saying, “It was like herding a bunch of cats.” Well let me tell you, for what she does with these children in 4-H, Valerie Stewart deserves props.

My last lesson was something I knew to be true coming into this assignment. This lesson is the greatest one yet, extension agents, whether 4-H, family Consumer Sciences or Agriculture and Natural Resources, they all make daily sacrifices. Their sacrifices may be small or great, and may range from a sacrifice of personal time, funds or optimum health. Rain or shine they are at the office, out in the field, very seldom will you hear them say they had a lot of free time, even over a weekend. This past weekend itself is a prime example, where our county agriculture agent, Mike Reed gave up much of his weekend to help the Livestock Association with a fundraiser they took part in. For this reason and because of the value of the work they do, in relaying timely information, hosting events and organizing within the community, we should all extend a great thanks to our extension agents.

As an aside to this article I also would like to personally thank Mike Reed for all that he has done for me during my time at the Powell County Extension Office. I could not have asked for a better mentor. Yes, the work was hard, the hours long, but with his direction everything got completed concisely and in a timely manner. That in itself is a skill he taught me, that I am ever gracious for. So in closing, I hope you all realize everything the extension personnel do for you, hopefully you appreciate their efforts as much as I do now.

The Month of August

What a month it has been! Right after we where done camping at North Central the State Fair was right around the corner. Here are a few pictures from the last day of camp.

 As soon as camp was over it was time to plan and get everything together for State Fair. My first assignment at State Fair  was to judge exhibits and display the exhibits. The first two days of fair was fun but huge learning experience! My third day of fair was checking in country hams.The car ride up their met wonderful!

 

After checking in the hams I ventured over to the rabbit show where I did not realize how may breeds there are. I also got time to talk to an exhibitor about how you get into showing rabbits and how to get kids involved in show rabbits in the counties. 

Right after State Fair I started doing chick incubation school enrichment programs at various locations. Also I started to plan for environmental camps and programs. 

Rounding out this month I visited one our largest 4-H Clubs. Leestown Middle is a very active club. This year they displayed a 4-H bulletin board in their school.

This summer has been a blast and I look forward to what follows the rest of the year.

  

My Last Day!

This day has come to fast. It is my last day as a Cooperative Extension Summer Intern and I can say these last two weeks working at the State Fair have been amazing. What a way to end my internship.

The first day of Week 11 I went to Cloverville to help enter all of the 4-H exhibits from Meade County. I am so glad I got the opportunity to see how Cloverville actually became the great attraction I see every year at the fair. It takes many people and volunteers to get Cloverville set up and exhibits entered and judged. That evening I drove to the office to help wash hams the last time before the ham contest. During the week me and Carole Goodwin the 4-H agent took the hams to Cloverville and entered them. We also were room host for the Country Ham Contest at the Kentucky State Fair where we were very busy for hours. This job consisted of more than just lining the 4-Hers up to give their speeches. We also had to be supportive and help them relax if they became nervous before giving their speech. Along with that we had to keep up with all the score sheets and make sure everything was done correctly and promptly in our rooms. Following the contest we attended the awards ceremony and then made sure our exhibitors collected their hams. The next day we attended the ribbon cutting ceremony at Cloverville. This was an excellent ceremony with great speakers. Following that I assisted Carole with the Rabbit Show since she was assistant superintendent.

I started Week 12 with a farm field day for all of the male attendees of the Homemakers Master Farm award in Meade County. I was a driver and this was my first time driving a 15 passenger van. We took them to three locations within the county. First we went to Mr. Mudd's greenhouses where he grows some of the largest watermelons in the country. He told the men how he does it and what affects the melons growth. 

Following that we took them to the new River Port where Consolidated Grain will be operating at purchasing grain from local farmers and using barges to ship it. Our last stop was at Hager Farms where JJ and Greg Hager farm around 5,000 acres of land. Then we returned the men to the meeting where we all had lunch. 

On Tuesday I attended the state fair to watch the Ky 4-H Performing Arts Troop at Cloverville. Madison Brown from Meade County is a new member of the troop so we supported her performances. On Wednesday I drove to the state fair to assist the Agriculture Agent, Andy Mills, with the steer show. We started bright and early preparing for the show. I helped hand out ribbons and keep track of placings during the show. We also had steer showmanship and heifer showmanship later that day. On Thursday I was back at the state fair again helping Andy with the heifer show. This was a very long and strenuous day but I had a great time. Also while helping with the cattle show we heard great news that Gary Nelson Barger from Meade County had won Reserve Grand Champion Swine and would be in the Sale of Champions. 

Today is my last day and I think it will be fairly calm compared to the last few days. I will be in the office and plan to have lunch with everyone I have worked with so closely this summer. 

Two of my slower weeks.

During week 9 I was busy around the office with various small task. I created a new officer handbook for all of the school 4-H club officers. This was fun for me as I love creating brochures and other documents on the computer. I also started to brainstorm game ideas for the school clubs to participate in during their meetings. On Wednesday I went with the FCS agent to Wolf Creek to do a childrens program on GERMS. We used the glitterbug machine to show the kids the germs on their hands.

Week 10 was a pretty easy week which consisted of preparation for the State Fair. The Agriculture agent asked me to call all the beef cattle associations and try to acquire a copy of the different registration papers so he had samples to look at for the state fair beef show. I made many phone calls and emails to find copies of different breed registration papers and created a binder of them all. I also created a new activity for the 4-Hers to do as an ice breaker at meeting and day camps.

The End of a an Adventure

I can't believe I am coming down to my last few days as an extension intern! Friday will officially be my last day at the McCracken County office, and I am really going to miss everyone here. Things have really slowed down a lot during the last few weeks of my internship. All of the summer programs I was teaching classes at have ended, the area schools have started back, and new programs have not yet started up yet. Most of my time has been spent with Stephanie, the EFNEP assistant, helping her with her classes and programs. I had a few days off from built up extra time where I had to attended a wedding so some of my weeks have seemed really short!

During the last couple of weeks I have judged the Marshall County fair general youth crafts with Emily, which was really nerve-racking because one of the parents was helping out. I have also continued with a few programs I have been helping with all summer, like cooking classes at the Merryman House and helping with parenting and nutrition classes at Hope Unlimited. The ladies at the Merryman House have really gotten used to me being there, and I will miss getting to see some of them! It is really exciting to get to see some of them move out and be on their own again though. It is hard to see the same people twice at Hope Unlimited. You never know when someone will attend all of the required classes or "graduate" from the programs or just not need to come anymore.

The biggest thing I have done on my own is a sort of project I have worked here and there on for most of the summer. I gave a talk about fad diets, healthy weight loss, cooking with allergies, and reading food labels at the Living Well Support Group last week. I had put together a lot of good information and was really excited to get to share it, although a little nervous too. The night before the talk my work computer crashed and required a system restore that deleted the second half of my presentation. Of course I had not saved the presentation elsewhere for a while so I had a lot of information to redo! I ended up covering most of what I wanted to but didn't feel that the presentation was as good as it originally had been before I had to redo it. However, the audience thanked me for it and said that I did a good job and they really appreciated and liked the information. They had a lot of questions about coconut oil that I wasn't prepared for and ended up looking up stuff about later on. I am glad I have gotten really good at thinking on my feet this summer!

I am very sad to be leaving the McCracken County office at the end of this week. I have a feeling I will be coming back to visit, attending extension events, and going to see them at the Farmer's Market over the next few months while I'm still in the area. This summer experience in extension has been invaluable to me, and I can't wait to hopefully make a career one day after I have finished my training and education in Dietetics!

So Little Time! Weeks 7-10!

Hello, everybody! I am a few weeks behind on posting (have been very busy with both this internship and personal life), but that just means that I have a whole lot of great stuff to tell about in this blog! Let me start off with my favorite of the bunch...week 7!

Week 7

Week 7 was.....CAMP WEEK! It was my first time ever attending 4-H camp and I LOVED it! I was so nervous about the whole experience and didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I honestly missed it the day after we returned!


 I had a small cabin with only 7 girls that were between 8-11 years old and they were wonderful! Each night that we were there they were all piled onto my little tiny bed telling me stories or asking me about my life. I had two of my girls approach me on the last night and say, " You're our favorite. You are always there for us". It honestly made such an impact on me because although we were only there for a few days, they appreciated the care and attention they were given!They were so sweet and I miss them all so much!






Week 8

This week began the second part of my internship... I was leaving 4-H and joining FCS. The first day I got to make gift bags for senior citizens directors that my supervising agent, Theresa Scott, would meet with the following Monday. The next day I got a little treat...I got to go with Heather again to two more 4-H day camps! I was so thankful because I loved all the day camps so much! They were and are still my favorite part of the internship. The rest of the week  mostly consisted of preparing for night programs and meetings that were to follow the next week. However, I did get to go with Judy, the EFNEP assistant to a rehab facility to teach a nutrition lesson. It was a very eye opening and positive experience and I hope I am able to return before my internship comes to a close.

Weeks 9 and 10

The Monday of week 9, our "Living Well Series" began. It is a 5-week evening program that has topics such as diabetes prevention, heart health, eating plant-based foods, mental and social health, and Plate it Up! Although the attendance was small, it went very well both times and everyone had a really nice time. We also got a call from the director of one of the Senior high rises in Prestonsburg telling us of a sad situation that some of the senior citizens there are in. Many of them are going without food at the end of the month due to lack of money or lack of ability to go out to get it. The director explained that she was starting a small food pantry there for them. So without hesitation, we began collecting food to take and scheduled a program for that Wednesday and the next Wednesday. We prepared lunch for them and taught various lessons! It was a very heart warming experience. They were all so very appreciative and I enjoyed every second of it. I also got the opportunity to attend a Back to School Bash at the Mountain Arts Center where I got to hand out the newsletter I did for my special project.

This internship has truly flown by and it is hard to believe that there is only two weeks left! I am very excited about what is to come in the following weeks and am so thankful to have had this opportunity!

What a Great Summer!

Let me just start off with, this summer was the best summer I have ever had! I never dreamed of being able to come to work every day excited and happy for the day! I will say that every day has been a different experience, no two days were the same, but that’s the joy of this career! During these short 12 weeks I have learned so many great things and made many lifelong relationships. I have made connections with many important individuals who can support me in my future career. From workshops to farm visits, from camps to county wide farm tours, I can say I have done it all! 

Sitting here on my last day at the office, thinking about all the adventures, fun times, stressful times and memorable times all I can do is smile and feel grateful that I have had the opportunity to spend my summer with these wonderful people! 

As I think back to some of my events that I hosted or helped out with, it amazes me that we touched so many children’s lives within a short amount of time. This feeling is what makes this career so rewarding. For example, I had the opportunity to give a child their first grape! Something as simple as an everyday fruit, that we eat daily, to think someone has never tried before. I was the one to be able to show that little girl what grapes are, where they grow from and how good they are for you. This simple ‘Fruit Car’ that the kids were making changed a little girl’s life. This is a feeling I want to have in my future career, I am making a difference in someone’s life. This internship allowed me to experience what making a difference feels like! 

I want to take the time to thank; Campbell County Extension Office for allowing me to be your intern and to all the agents that I worked with, thank you for all the great learning experiences!  Thank you to UK for allowing me to have this great opportunity and a special thanks to my supervising agent, Sherri Farley! It was a great summer!

The 4-H Camp Magic is still ALIVE!

And we are off! 4-H Camp went off like a hit! We had a great week taking 350 campers and counselors. I have been going to camp since I was 12 and I will have to say this year was the best. Seeing all the long hours, hard work and stress of planning of camp be put to use by having a successful week was the most rewarding part of camp this year! 

While there I taught a Sock Monkey Class, where the campers sewed a Original Sock Monkey Dolls. Within this class the campers successfully learned how to thread a needle and how to do a simple whip-stitch. I believe that the skills they learned in my class they can use in their lives so how and that was my goal! 

Some of the big events at camp that the kids absolutely enjoyed was the Reptile Zoo, Water Olympics, Field Games and the Inflatables!! 

The Reptile Zoo was an afternoon activity where the KY Reptile Zoo came out to camp and showed us a few reptiles! This was a great time where the campers got the chance to learn about some reptiles that have never see before but also got the chance to learn about common reptiles like the Snapping Turtle. The kids had a blast and had some very interesting questions! 

Water Olympics and Field Games are camp traditions but they are always so much fun even if this is your 11^th year at camp! These two events were great learning experiences for me because I had to help make a final decision on where to host these games due to incoming weather. Even due to the freak storm that never showed up, we had a blast hosting field games in the Shelter House! And we were very lucky to have a warm day for our Water Olympics so the campers would be able to enjoy it instead of freezing!! The week was going great! 

Our last big event that is a tradition for our county is our Inflatables Night on Thursday night! The kids and counselors had a blast as always! 

 

Lastly the best night of all! Our campfire was AMAZING! The campfire always is nice wrap up for the week and gets everyone ready to come back next year! But I believe that the best part was our clover was GREEN this year!! I already miss camp and all the campers smiling faces, can’t wait to go back next year!