The tab for the 4-H calendar has been updated with a link to the pdf for 2023.

Important 4-H Dates for January 2023 have been added to the calendar tab.

The Morgan County Extension Office is pleased to announce our new 4-H Extension Educator, Sophia Whisman. She really enjoyed her brief time as the SNAP-Ed Program Assistant and was surprised to see an opening available as an educator in such a short time frame of working in the office.
Sophia graduated from Hocking College with an Associate Degree in Wildlife Management. Directly after graduating, she transferred and received a Bachelor’s in Wildlife and Fisheries Management at West Virginia University. She grew up in Morgan County participating in Ag/FFA and 4-H for almost her entire childhood.

Thus far in her career, she worked for Lake Metroparks in Lake County as a Wildlife Education Specialist where she worked with birds of prey. She also worked there as a Children’s Naturalist where she programmed with kids to teach them all about nature and the outdoors. She has found that she loves programming and is excited to continue that here in a community that raised her. Her favorite activities include hiking, going birding and just enjoying the great outdoors.We know she will bring the same dedication, skills, and commitment to her new position.

If you get a chance reach out to Sophia to congratulate and welcome her to the new position.

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” – Walt Disney

With a heavy heart, I want to share that, I will be transitioning into a new position to serve as the Marion County 4-H Extension Educator on March 29. I want to express my sincerest thanks for your passion, dedication, and continuous support of the Morgan County 4-H program and welcoming me into your community with open arms. You all have helped my personal and professional development throughout the past few years, especially during the global pandemic.

During my time in Morgan County, I learned that our families are very busy with children in sports, church, or jobs that wait times for project judging and skillathons were quite long for busy schedules, so we found a way to help accommodate those schedules with project judging appointment times for them to select a time that worked for them, and we sorted families by last name so that siblings could complete skillathons at the same time. I also learned that our older youth are strong and caring leaders. The Morgan County Junior Leaders were able to provide a way to include our Cloverbud members with an educational event known as the Cloverbud STEM Days. It has been an amazing experience to watch these teens teach younger members about science concepts and grow into confident leaders. Lastly, I learned that our volunteers and families wanted more ways to stay connected and updated with the 4-H program, so we built the 4-H blog site to share immediate information about upcoming events and reminders.

I’m thrilled and blessed to have spent the time with the youth and volunteers of the Morgan County 4-H program, and Morgan County with its beautiful views, local support, and friendly community will always hold a special place in my heart.

The process for hiring a new 4-H Extension Educator has begun, and I trust that the staff in the office will be able to continue to support the Morgan County 4-H program until someone new joins the team. I do challenge you all to continue to make the best better for the youth, volunteers, and community and welcome the next 4-H educator with open arms. Again, thank you so much for shaping me into who I am today.