Annual Extension Awards Forms
All award nominations are due in October. Date to be announced.
- Jim DeBree Extension Award Form
This is the most prestigious Extension honor in UW Extension. The five Professional Associations, WEAFCS, WACAA, WAE4-HA, WACDEP, and ESP, nominate and select the recipient of the Jim DeBree Award in the year their professional association is eligible. - UW Extension Awards Form including:
• Creative Excellence Recognition
• Diversity Enhancement Recognition
• Newer Employee Recogniton - UW Extension Administrative Professional of the Year Award
This award formerly known as the Frances Freese Secretary of the Year Award recognizes a secretary/administrative assistant for outstanding contributions to UW Extension. Nominees must hold an administrative professional position within the University of Wyoming Extension for at least five years. Nominations may include affiliates who work directly with/for UW Extension. Please see the attached announcement, guidelines, and nomination form.
2022 Award Recipients:
- Jim DeBree Extension Award – Hudson Hill
- UWE Creative Excellence – Ranch Camp team of Hudson Hill, Chance Marshall, Brian Sebade, and Barton Stam
- UWE Diversity Enhancement – Sara Fleenor
- UWE Newer Employee – Emily Swinyer
- UW Administrative Professional of the Year – Rachel Fisk, Fremont County
- Bright Future – Sarah Gonzalez, Albany County
Historical Lists of Recipients:
- Jim DeBree Extension Award
- UW Extension Creative Excellence Recognition
- UW Extension Diversity Enhancement Recognition
- UW Extension Newer Employee Recognition
- UW Extension Bright Future
- UW Extension Administrative Professional of the Year
- Frances Freese Secretary of the Year Award (replaced by UW Extension Administrative Professional of the Year Award in 2019)
- UW Extension Distinguished Employee Award (replaced by Jim DeBree Extension Award in 1996)
John P. Ellbogen Foundation Awards
Wyoming Communities, Agriculture and Rural Living Project Fund
Phase I (new projects)
In Wyoming, there is a strong passion among citizens in the cattle, sheep, and goat areas. On average across Wyoming 4-H, there are over 950 cattle, 975 sheep, and 725 goat members. In many counties, the number livestock members have increased which has in turn, increased members breeding their own projects. In this two year project, Wyoming 4-H and Extension Educators will host classes to educate members about the science and processes of artificial insemination of cattle, sheep, and goat. Classes will include gestation cycles, breeding nutrition, DNA and genes, AI process, and blood testing and ultra-sounding. Participants will have the opportunity to go through this educational series and end with their own animals being bred. Funds are requested to assist in bringing high education to the participants with a skilled technician. Part of the funding will go toward one educator becoming trained in Laparoscopic AI.
STEAM and volunteer training is an integral part of the Wyoming 4-H Program. This two-year project will provide a set of trained 4-H volunteers/Educators across Wyoming that can lead educational programs based around the newest technologies in robotics education and drones. This will be a huge step in making county 4-H programs relevant in these project areas and move away from using obsolete teaching tools. The first year will focus on the southeast area with an expansion into the whole state in year two. As a result of this project a fact sheet will be created that every 4-H program can utilize to recruit more 4-H volunteers and youth into these two project areas.
Wyoming Food, Fun, 4-H is a program developed to bring families together in the kitchen and dinner table. Reported by Harvard University only 30% of families sat down to eat dinner together. The COVID pandemic may have changed some of those statistics, but with the return to a more normal routine, many evenings are filled with homework, sports, after school activities and more. The goal of this program is to get young people in the kitchen and preparing home cooked meals, trying new foods, encouraging family time, developing communication skills and having fun! In addition to promoting kitchen and cooking skills, Food, Fun, 4-H will teach youth how to be smart consumers through planning, time management and budgeting. This program was originally designed by Oklahoma State University with the intention of growing the program to other states. One disadvantage to Wyoming is that many parts of our state are considered a food desert. Adapting and diversifying the program to meet Wyoming’s needs will be a challenge, one that we welcome!
Phase II (expansion of projects previously awarded) – No applications were submitted for 2022.
