California 4-H Association - Distinguished Service Award

Distinguished Service Award

Distinguished service recognition for those with at least 7 years of service and in their 3rd consecutive year as national member.

Marianne Bird 2009 Distinguished Service Award Recipient	Marianne Bird's passion for outdoor programming, science literacy, and youth empowerment feeds her work in camp, club and after school settings. She chairs the California 4-H Camping Advisory Committee and provides leadership to the new statewide 4-H staff structure. She opens outdoor experiences to urban youth and develops science in after school programs. Marianne led the statewide 4-H camp study, development of counselor-in-training manual and SET camp materials.
Jane Chin Young 2008 Distinguished Service Award Recipient	Jane has served as a California 4-H Advisor in California for 27 years, previously in Los Angeles County and currently in Marin County in the Bay Area. Her program areas of interest have included teen leadership, nutrition education for low-income youth, and therapeutic horseback riding for youth with disabilities.
John Borba 2007 Distiguished Service Award Recipient	John Borba is a 4-H Youth Development Advisor in Kern County, California and has been with Cooperative Extension for fifteen years. The activities in his county include a 4-H club program with more than forty clubs, school enrichment projects, Operation Military Kids events and special outreach programs.
Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty - 2006 Distinguished Service Award	As the 4-H Youth Development Advisor in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, Lynn uses science, technology and environmental literacy to develop leadership, citizenship and life skills in young people. Lynn has made contributions to advancing the field of youth development with her applied research in asset building, experiential learning, and life skill development.
Ken Willmarth 2005 Distinguished Service Award Recipient	Ken Willmarth has served in Cooperative Extension for 26, including the last 22 years as the 4-H Youth Development Advisor in Stanislaus County. Ken promotes enhancing quality, integrity, and relevance of communities through 4-H by giving adults a broad venue for educating their children and relating to one another. Previously he was a classroom teacher and a Peace Corps Volunteer in Peru.
Darlene Liesch - 2004 Distinguished Service Award	As a 4-H Youth Development Advisor in Kern County, Darlene always enjoyed working with 4-H Teen Leaders and brought them into the community's 2020 visioning process. As a County Director, Darlene ensures community awareness and support for the 4-H Program through networking and careful fiscal management.
Jeanne George - 2003 Distinguished Service Award Recipient	Jeanne manages two county 4-H club and school enrichment programs enrolling over 3,000 youth and 500 volunteers annually. Jeanne also established three 4-H after school child care programs and has increased the awareness of school age child care issues. Her current interests are developing science inquiry and nutrition curriculum, and evaluating the effectiveness of after school homework clubs.
Loran Hoffmann - 2002 Distinguished Service Award Recipient	During Loran's 19 year as a 4-H Program Representative in the UC Davis campus, she has focused on strengthening teen and adult leadership skills, increasing science and technology literacy, and promoting 4-H program collaborations. She was involved with the development and national dissemination of 4-H SERIES.