Published: October 10, 2008 11:41 am            

Honoring the legacy of 4-H

Local agent wins national award for video on Texas clubs

San Marcos — Hays County Extension Agent Richard Parrish’s video presentation on the Centennial of 4-H in Texas was so well received, it was shown by other agents all over the state throughout the year to celebrate the milestone.

But now the video has become even bigger.

Parrish recently received the national award in Media Presentation by the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents at their meeting in Indianapolis, Ind.

“It really was a shock to me. I was proud of the work I’d done, but to hear that I had won the national award helped confirm the thought that maybe I’d done something worthwhile after all,” Parrish said.

Parrish spent more than a year researching the Internet and pulling photos from state 4-H archives. Selecting from literally thousands of photos from 100 years of 4-H activity, Parrish matched the photos with voiceovers to tell a story.

Parrish says he wanted to capture the evolving nature of 4-H, and how it has continually had an impact in an increasingly urban setting.

“When most people think of 4-H, they think of agriculture,” Parrish said. “And while that is the foundation of the program, and I wanted to capture its origins, I wanted to show how 4-H has evolved from the agricultural program to the diverse program it is today.”

In the past, for instance, 4-H was designated for rural areas and people with rural roots. Today, 4-H exists in all urban Texas areas and offers programs like public speaking and robotics and bicycling and exotic poultry. The increased offerings aim to help meed the needs and interests of young people today.

Parrish’s video won honors on the state level last year, and then won the regional competition, which encompasses 16 states all the way up to Virginia.

Parrish, the Hays County Extension Agent for 4H and Youth Development, has spent the past seven years in San Marcos leading the 4-H Program. He was born and raised in Olivia, a small farming community 15 miles outside of Port Lavaca.

He stayed involved with 4-H as a child raising goats, raising chickens, cooking and shooting photographs. In 1994 he graduated with a degree in Animal Science from Texas A&M University.

        

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