The best friends, both individual and corporate, that any organization can have are the ones that perform their work quietly, but their results benefit all involved. The WVU Extension Service will honor its quiet heroes at its annual Partner Appreciation Banquet at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, at WVU Jacksons Mill.
Individuals to be recognized include Paul E. Becker, program leader of Safety and Health Extension; Ruthellen Hill Phillips, Extension specialist and director of Energy Express; Gladys Knapp, retired Extension agent and professor of home economics; and M. William Adler, retired cable television executive and longtime member of Extensions Visiting Committee and the Jacksons Mill Advisory Committee.
Becker is being recognized for”Outstanding Resource Development.”He has provided occupational safety and health training to workers and employers in West Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic region for more than 20 years. He has served as a principal investigator on long-term federal grant projects studying construction site hazards, and directs an occupational safety and health consultation program for small businesses in West Virginia.
Phillips is also being honored for”Outstanding Resource Development.”She has provided leadership for several award-winning youth programs, most recently Energy Express. She has secured more than $10 million in grants to plan, implement and evaluate Extension programs that make a difference in the lives of many West Virginia children.
Knapp will receive the”Outstanding Philanthropist”award for her sponsorship of scholarships for 4-H club members and undergraduate students in the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences. She served as an Extension home demonstration agent, and as acting assistant dean and professor of home economics at WVU . She has been a member of the Board of Directors of the West Virginia 4-H Club for 25 years and is a charter member of the Friends of Jacksons Mill.
M. William Adler of Weston is being honored as an”Outstanding Volunteer Fund Raiser.”He has been active in community and governmental affairs most of his adult life. He has served on the Jacksons Mill Advisory Committee and Extensions Visiting Committee for several years. He is known as a pioneer in the cable television industry, and wrote”Yesteryears,”a weekly column on Lewis County history that appeared in the Weston Democrat for nearly 10 years.
Two organizations and one charitable foundation will also be honored. The West Virginia Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (WVEAFCS) and the West Virginia Master Gardener Association (WVMGA) will be recognized as”Outstanding Partners.”The Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, a subsidiary of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, will receive the”Outstanding Foundation”award.
The evenings program includes opening remarks and award presentations by Dr. Lawrence S. Cote, associate provost and director of the WVU Extension Service. Susan Pietrantozzi, member of the Extension Capital Campaign Steering Committee, will serve as emcee. Music will be performed by pianist Randall Schoonover and flutist Susan Floyd.