Two former West Virginia 4-H members who had long careers in the youth development program were recently inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame.

Dr. V. MiltonMiltBoyce, a Greenbrier County native, and Eleanor L. Wilson, a Monongalia County native, were two of the 24 adults from throughout the country who were inducted recently in a ceremony at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Md.

After being active 4-Hers in their respective counties, both spent their entire careers with the 4-H youth development program, which is part of the nationwide Cooperative Extension System. The National Association of Extension 4-H Agents sponsors the National 4-H Hall of Fame.

Boyce joined Extension as a county and area agent in Kentucky, a position he held for eight years. After earning an Ed.D. degree from North Carolina State University, he became a national 4-H program leader in the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. In that position, he worked with staff development for volunteers and paraprofessionals. Boyce also helped develop one of the first satellite training programs for national staff. He later served as assistant deputy administrator of 4-H.

Wilson became the West Virginia University Extension 4-H agent in Ohio County after graduating from WVU in 1956. Five years later, she served as the acting leader of the State Girls 4-H Program at WVU . She joined the USDA in 1963, the year she received her masters degree from the University of Wisconsin.

As a national 4-H program leader, she managed 4-H international programs, National 4-H Conference, Citizenship Washington Focus and staff development programs. Wilson was executive producer of the Mulligan Stew TV series and worked on two other series. She retired in 1995 from the USDA Extension as assistant deputy administrator for home economics and human nutrition.

Both honorees are active community volunteers. Boyce works with several soil and water conservation organizations in Virginia. He and his wife, Andrea, live in Stephens City, Va.

Wilson volunteers for the National 4-H Council and several other organizations. Wilson, who lives in Falls Church, Va., is a member of the inaugural class of the West Virginia 4-H Hall of Fame sponsored by WVU .

4-H is the nations largest youth development program, involving 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.