Kathy Riggs and Jim Jensen
Kathleen Riggs is a 27-year veteran with USU Extension and has a full-time assignment with a significant amount of time dedicated to supervising grant-funded programs and the paraprofessionals hired to implement those programs in Iron County, Utah. She has come to truly understand the vital role Cooperative Extension professionals play in the lives of people.
She supervises and works with a Family and Consumer Sciences program assistant who works directly with three nutrition education assistants (Food Sense Nutrition Education Program). She supervises five employees who serve at-risk youth in three different programs (Youth and Families with Promise [YFP]). She is the state and the project director (Principal Investigator) for the state Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) grant that funds three sites in Iron, Cache and Tooele counties. As evidence of on-going performance, this past year she completed a series of successful financial management classes.
In her role as a Family and Consumer Agent, she has had significant outcomes in the Youth at Risk program she has developed. She plays a key role in the 4-H youth mentoring program that has been implemented across the state and, in fact, it is been adopted in at least three other states to reach and positively affect the lives of troubled youth and their families.
Kathleen is a consummate Extension professional providing dedicated service to university, community and the western region. We highly commend her exemplary excellence in Extension! \
Jim Jensen has been a 4-H Youth Extension Agent in Utah County for 28 years. During this time he has created numerous programs, overseen stock shows and horse shows, helped the patients at the State Developmental facility in American Fork with their 4-H program, worked with the elementary school children at Farm Field Days and has given various demonstrations at the club, country, state and national levels. In addition to his County Extension assignment, Jim took over the responsibilities of the State 4-H Livestock Specialist about three years ago and works with Extension Agents, youth, parents and leaders around the state.
Working with the State Developmental facility, Jim arranged to have animals donated - horses, goats, sheep, pigs, rabbits, chickens, etc. Several of the residents participated in horse shows and stock shows where they showed their animals. They also did a yearly “rodeo” - a horse show for the residents where they were able to participate in different horse activities such as barrel racing, horse relay, tandem bareback and other fun horse activities. They also had a rodeo queen contest. He helped facilitate all of this.
In several county grade schools Jim organized an embryology project with kindergarten and first graders. He would bring eggs and incubators for their use. The children would monitor the humidity and temperature daily and then see the chicks hatch at the end of twenty-one days. With parent permission, the children then took the chicks home with instructions from Jim on how to care for them.
Jim has been trained as a hunter educator and has run several hunter education programs. They have included sport fishing, horse packing, shooting sports, outdoor cooking - especially Dutch oven cooking. He has been influential in incorporating Dutch oven cooking into the 4-H State Contests.
Utah County has one of the strongest 4-H horse programs in the state due to Jim’s efforts. He helped create the bylaws for the state and northwest district councils. He designed horse show certificates that are used in our county and throughout the state. He has trained the 4-H horse leaders to successfully plan, organize and carry out the community and county horse shows. He is well respected here in Utah County and around the state.
Jim has set the standard for the lamb industry in the western United States. His research on breeding, feeding and care has changed for the better the way livestock owners raise their animals. The first weekend in May will find him at our Utah County State Junior Livestock Show. This is a very successful show with the number of entries growing every year.
Jim has prepared the State Junior Livestock and Horse Program Code of Conduct forms, the Utah State Junior Livestock Show Association official rules and official code of ethics. He has also been instrumental in having livestock included again in our County Fair this year.
In this day and age it is unusual to find anyone who makes “house calls” but Jim is constantly meeting 4-H leaders and members on their farms and in their fields to tag animals and generally discuss good practices for them to use in the care of their animals. He lets these people know he is there to help them to be successful. Anyone who has talked to him knows he is a “walking textbook” and that the guidance and information he gives is up to date and well researched.