New 4-H youth specialist joins MU Extension

Amanda Turner, Saline County's new University of Missouri Extension 4-H youth specialist, was a longtime and very active 4-H member. She began in her new position in early December 2008. (Marcia Gorrell/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Amanda Turner, the new University of Missouri Extension 4-H Youth Specialist for Saline and Howard counties, was a longtime 4-H member and comes from a family with a "long line of 4-H involvement."

In fact, Turner's parents are still 4-H leaders in Ewing, a town in northeast Missouri,

"My dad is shotgun coach, my mom helps him a lot, but also does her own 4-H stuff," she said. Her hometown is north of Hannibal in Lewis County.

After three years working as a social worker in the Boone County Division of Children Services and a short stint working for Preferred Hospice, she said she now has the job she has always wanted.

"I've always wanted to be a 4-H youth specialist," said Turner, who received a bachelor's degree in social work from the University of Missouri in 2005 and a master's degree in social work from MU in 2008.

In fact, it was through 4-H that she met her fiancé and because of him she came to the area.

"I got to be here in Marshall because my fiancé is actually from Higginsville, so I moved this way and worked for Preferred Hospice for a short time," she explained.

A friend in 4-H told her the Saline County position was coming open when former youth specialist Tracey Moore left to take the same job in her home county.

In less than a month Turner will be marrying Barrett Struchtemeyer, who farms and does soil conservation work with his father and brother in Lafayette County.

"My dad is one of the state 4-H shotgun coaches and Barrett was on his very first team and that's how I met him," she explained.

As a longtime member of Walnut Grove 4-H in Monticello, Turner was very active, even serving on the state 4-H council, first as an area representative and then as state secretary.

"I was in everything from swine to indoor exhibits to shooting sports," she said, adding she did shotgun until she was out of 4-H.

She said showing swine was probably her favorite 4-H project. She grew up farming and is from many generations of farmers on both sides of her family.

Turner started her new position in early December and has been very busy.

"So far it's been going really well, I came in for enrollment time," she said.

She has also been working on the new statewide volunteer orientation program.

"The hopes of that program is that we are going to better educate our volunteers to better serve our youth," she explained, adding that she is doing training with the volunteers and there is on-line training as well.

She has also spent time meeting 4-H leaders and volunteers and will soon be going to visit the county 4-H clubs.

"I'm here a lot. If people want me to be somewhere, all they have to do is ask. If I don't already have a prior commitment, I'm going to do my best to be there," she said.

Turner spends most of her time in Saline County, but travels to Howard County about two days a month.

"In Howard County I have a youth program assistant. Her position is 20 hours a week, and she assists me in running that program," explained Turner.

Her new position will also allow her to do youth enrichment programs in area schools.

"I'm also excited because I get to do a lot of the youth enrichment programs and I get to go into the schools and work with the different community organizations to provide additional youth enrichment," she said. "That was a big deal for me when my youth specialist would come and do youth enrichment programs. That was something I took a lot away from."

Among those programs will be embryology. The extension service will provide incubators and eggs for about 20 area schools. She said she would also be doing some team building activities in the schools.

"I've also been told I'm eventually going to be worked into the Focus on Kids program here in Saline County," she said.

Turner has a lot of praise and high hopes for Saline County's 4-H program.

"I think that Saline County has a very strong 4-H program to begin with. We have great leaders and great volunteers and they've been a huge asset to me so far," she said, adding that she would like to see some changes, including more participation in the volunteer orientation.

"I think we are already strong, but we could stronger," she added. "We could be the best in Missouri."

Contact Marcia Gorrell at marshallag@socket.net