A North Carolina 4-H volunteer who grew up in the West Virginia University Extension Services program in Kanawha County has received the National 4-H Councils Salute to Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award for 2004.

From her days as a 4-H member in this state to her years as an adult volunteer in North Carolina, Eleanore Davis Getz has been involved with 4-H for 40 years.

As a 4-H Master Volunteer, Getz trains others to be the best volunteers they can be. She was a founder of the North Carolina 4-H Master Volunteer Program and of county and state 4-H volunteer leadersassociations. She has lived in Fayetteville, N.C., since 1976.

4-H, for me, is not just an organization for which I volunteer. Its a way of life,Getz said, noting that her two children belonged to the organization and her husband, Robert, led 4-H woodworking projects. Herjobas a volunteer on the state level is to train leaders who will in turn train others. On the county level, she trained 100 new leaders who are working with children living on military bases in the area.

Getz, who grew up in South Charleston, was a member of the Ken-in-she-ka 4-H Club, which was led by her parents, the late Bradford and Edith Davis. For her outstanding project work, she was named the state winner and the alternate national winner in the 4-H home economics program. She attended the National 4-H Congress in Chicago. She, her father and her brother have all received the State 4-H Alumni Award. Getz is a member of the West Virginia 4-H All-Stars honorary, as were her parents.

After graduating from South Charleston High School, Getz earned bachelors and masters degrees in music education from WVU . She taught music in Cumberland County, N.C., for 15 years.

The annual Salute to Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes the dedication of one person who has volunteered in 4-H programs for more than 10 years. The award is made possible through Monsanto Company and the Salute to Excellence Fund.

4-H, the nations largest youth development program, involves nearly 7 million youths, 640,000 volunteer leaders, and 105 land-grant universities. The WVU Extension Service operates the statewide 4-H program, which reaches more than 56,000 youths led by 7,200 adult volunteers.

Getz received her award recently at a ceremony at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Md.