Tusing: 'If It Wasn't for Kelly, We Wouldn't Be Where We Are Today'
Published: Friday, July 22, 2022
We all know that the 4-H program depends on a team of dedicated volunteers, but what about the professionals in the 4-H office who put in countless hours to ensure success? You might say they function as the hub of a wheel, while the volunteers are the spokes.
A good 4-H educator is always overworked and underpaid. He or she works to make sure that 4-H'ers have quality educational opportunities as well as provide recognition for those who excelled in their projects.
Last week, the Kosciusko County 4-H program bid farewell to one of the area's best Extension educators, Kelly Heckaman. She is leaving her position as an ag and natural resources educator, a position she held for 26 years, and is moving up to the position of Area 11 director for Northeast Indiana. She'll be working from home most days but will travel to Fort Wayne one day a week.
At the close of last Friday's Sale of Champions, the auction committee recognized Heckaman for her many accomplishments. Jason Henderson, director of Purdue University Extension, and Casey Mull, who oversees the 4-H program at the state office, made the trip from West Lafayette to honor Heckaman.
Though Heckaman wasn't a 4-H educator, she nevertheless took the lead as the organizer, promoter and facilitator of the 4-H livestock auction over her 2 ½ decades of work in Kosciusko County. A news release mentioned that Heckaman's job doubled, even tripled, during her tenure in Warsaw. That's because her role as Extension educator was more than a job; it was a passion.
One of her many successes was initiating a dairy lease program that allowed 4-H'ers not living on dairy farms to show dairy cattle. Four-H kids from Kosciusko County partnered with Guernsey breeder Verl Weaver of Goshen and others to take the program to the next level. In the first year, there were less than 10 kids enrolled in the lease program. In less than eight years, there are now over 50 kids showing dairy cattle.
Local 4-H leaders were close to tears last week as they talked about Heckaman's impact on the 4-H program. Kay Tusing, one of the 4-H dairy club leaders, said there were many times when the 4-H volunteers and committees unintentionally failed to complete their jobs, but Heckaman was always right there to cover for the committees' failures.
"If it wasn't for Kelly, we wouldn't be where we are today," said Tusing.
Heckaman was emotional as she listened to the accolades from 4-H and Extension leaders. The highlight was the announcement of an $11,750 donation to the Sonja Easterday fund with the Kosciusko County Community Foundation. The fund, named in honor of Heckaman's mother, will support agricultural education efforts in Kosciusko and Fulton counties.
Heckaman said she was blown away by the generosity. The recognition program and donations were organized without her knowledge. She expressed her heart-felt gratitude for the charity and expressions of love.
This is how a community honors the work of a good Extension educator. Overworked and underpaid, but in the end, respected by all.
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