Speaking of Extension

This year, Cooperative Extension has launched a National Branding Initiative that will provide consistent messages across the country about the many ways Extension helps clients. The National Brand promise says it best, “Extension provides practical education you can trust, to help people, businesses and communities solve problems, develop skills and build a better future.”

In North Carolina, clients are telling personal stories of how Extension is “empowering people and providing solutions” to improve lives. Here are just a few that illustrate how N.C. Cooperative Extension is making a difference statewide:

• Anson County 4-H’er Curtis Crump has his focus on the future, thanks in part to 4-H. Crump, a scholarship student and rising sophomore in business administration at East Carolina University, calls 4-H nothing less than “amazing.”
• Extension helped Gerald Frye fulfill his dream of becoming a farmer. Frye says he had no idea how much knowledge it takes to run a farm, but Extension has been at his side, helping him gain knowledge and skills, right from the start.
• The Huffman family and Cooperative Extension have forged a reliable partnership. Starting out with a Christmas tree operation, the Huffmans have diversified into nursery crops and other enterprises. From Extension, the Huffmans gain knowledge. And in return, they support Extension by hosting on-farm demonstrations and other activities.
• With financial education from Cooperative Extension, retired dietitian Betty Moseley has been able to save what she calls “real money.” She’s also learned from Extension how to turn her yard into an edible landscape that provides fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs year-round.

— Staff Report