Meanwhile the Director of ExtensionWalter “Wallie”Wood, who has headed Extension for 20 years, is stuck in his office during a snowstorm. The office is in a building isolatedon the far edge of campus, so is the last area reachedby the sand trucks. He decides to plow (pun intended) through a backlog of paperwork and reports. He picks up the annual report of 4-H to read figuring that, as usual, it would take about threeminutes. He rereads it. He clicks into the Extension database andgoes back ten years. Rereads the report again. Statewide, 4-H participation is off 30% compared to a decade ago. Worse, enrollment from 6 th grade on is down to a few hundred, compared to several thousand in 4 th grade. So, he thinks, this whole argument that 4-H is good for the university because it is an enrollment feeder is hogwash. Hewonders if he is throwing good money after bad. I’mdealing with budget cuts, heck the whole place is in mourning, and meanwhile I have 4-H sopping up money for fewer and fewer kids? Babies, really. Tom was my pick, Wallie thinks, but now that I look back on the interviews before we offered the job, we really did not talk about the numbers. We talked about 4-H and our traditions in this state. Better have lunch with him and seewhat all this reporting suggests about the future. Tradition is one thing, but we need to be on top of what is happening now if we are going to grow.
Facing theMusic
The lunch did not gowell.
Wallie brought the reports to the table and asked for thoughts about a growthplan. This state is changing, Wallie declares, everyonewho has lived here for a decade sees that. Maybe you don’t because you’re new, but you and 4 -H need toget on board. If 4-H expects to continue to be part of this organization, of this Department, then things better turn around and turn around soon. “I will protect you as long as I can,”Wallie says. “Hey. I am4-H; 12 years in my club. GrandChampion for my steer senior year in high school. But the facts are the facts. And this university is looking for a dime in any sock drawer it can pry open. I can give you three months for a plan and maybe a year for results. After that, I’mnot sure how long I will be able to hold the line. There are increasing demands on my resources and lots of people clamoring for money who can show the university that they are creating jobs and attracting students andmoney. It is not that I do not care about 4-H, but as I said, the facts are the facts.” “Oh, and by the way,”Wallie says as Tom pushes back from the table, “you might want to look at that data. I’mpretty sure it is not possible that 100% of 4 -Hers were Hi spanic in 2009.” As Tom pushes in his chair, Wallie adds, “just one more thing. Not sure what it is about, but I got a call yesterday from the Feds. USDA is asking me about how we are adjusting to all the minority and refugee growth in Oakville.
The next lunch did not go well either.
Tom calls an emergencymeeting with lots of coffee. Present is his entire senior state 4-H specialists and a select group of 4- H agents representing the diversityof the state’s geographic regions. Of the ten, eight have worked in 4-H in the state their entire careers. Nine of the ten grewup in rural counties and have families spread in rural and small towns throughout the state.
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