Contact: Mike Whitesides, 435-797-7613, mike.whitesides@usu.edu
Writer: Jacob Roskelley, 435-797-0810, jacob.roskelley@usu.edu
LOGAN — Across the nation, Extension’s 4-H program touts
prestigious alumni. Among them are Dolly Parton, Sissy Spacek, Reba
McEntire, “Garfield” cartoonist Jim Davis, Olympic gold-medal
wrestler Rulon Gardner and Olympic track-and-field star Stacy
Dragila. As part of National 4-H Week Oct. 7-13, Utah State
University Extension features several Utah 4-H alumni and tells
where they are today.
Olene Walker
On Nov. 5, 2003, Olene S. Walker was sworn in as the first female
governor of Utah after former Gov. Mike Leavitt resigned his office
to serve as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Walker served as governor until the end of Leavitt's term on
Jan. 3, 2005.
Walker and her husband, Myron, are currently serving as public
affairs missionaries to the United Nations for the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Walker has been heavily involved with 4-H in Utah. As a participant,
she represented Utah at a national 4-H competition in fashion revue.
Walker's political background includes eight years in the state
legislature, including a term as Majority Whip. She founded the Salt
Lake Education Foundation and served as its director. She also
served as director of the Utah Division of Community Development.
She has chaired the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice,
the Utah State Housing Coordinating Committee, the Governor's
Commission on Child Care and the National Conference of Lieutenant
Governors.
Walker was born in Ogden. She received her bachelor's, master's and
doctorate degrees from Brigham Young University, Stanford
University and the University of Utah respectively. She is the mother
of seven children and is grandmother to 25.
Heather Anderson
Heather Anderson is spreading her drug abuse prevention message
throughout the state as the current Miss Utah USA 2007. She went on
to place sixth in the nation at Miss USA. She works extensively with
the Utah Council for Crime Prevention as a board member and is a
spokesperson for D.A.R.E. She is also on the National McGruff Board.
Anderson was active in 4-H, raising pigs for the Salt Lake County
Fair and serving as a Salt Lake County Teen Ambassador. Anderson
won state in talent and public speaking. A graduate of Alta High, she
performed in school plays and musicals, ran track and played
basketball. She also spent many summers performing on the stage at
the Pickleville Playhouse in Bear Lake.
“For me, 4-H really was a turning point,” she said. “It was the first
place I was noticed, and I really came out of my shell and had the
chance to shine. Without it helping me show my talents and abilities,
I might not have been able to go on to other things, including Miss
Utah USA.”
Anderson attended Utah State University where she majored in social
science with an emphasis in psychology. She is currently working as a
runway model, where she has walked for Diesel, Louis Vuitton and
others.
Rodney Roberts
Since December 2006, Rodney Roberts has served as the human
resources director for GE Healthcare in China. He manages a team of
25 human resource managers and specialists who provide human
resource support for the entire business.
Roberts works extensively with leadership development, recruitment,
employee relations and organization design and structure. GE
Healthcare has approximately 3,000 employees and does about $600
million in business in China each year.
About 4-H
Arthur Graham, a superintendent in Springfield, Ohio, is believed to
be the founder of 4-H. He gathered some 85 children ranging in age
from 10 to 15 in the basement of the local courthouse on Jan.15,
1902. Their first projects: food preservation, testing for soil acidity
and growing corn and potatoes. Within three years, there were 20
clubs in the state with 1,038 members.
Today, there are about 7 million youths ages 5-19 who participate in
4-H in all 50 states, territories and U.S. Army installations worldwide
and approximately 500,000 volunteers.
Since its inception, 4-H has changed with America. When the
organization was founded in 1902, the U.S. economy was largely
agriculture-based. So, too, were many of 4-H’s programs. Today,
4-H has a presence in every county in America and offers more than
1,000 programs ranging from robotics and biotechnology to
skateboarding, plants and animals.
The one thing that has remained unchanged about 4-H is the reliance
on volunteer leaders who teach 4-H students life-long skills centered
on teamwork, citizenship and the benefits of community service.
For further information about Utah 4-H, visit
http://www.utah4h.org/.
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View the press release as it appeared on Utah State Today.
View the feature story as it appeared on Utah State Today.
