Mary Kaye Merwin, the first female 4-H educator in Wisconsin was inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame on October 6, 2017 in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Merwin credits her entire professional career to personal development through her 65 year involvement in 4-H that began at age 10. After years of 4-H involvement as a junior member, Merwin began her career as the Waukesha County 4-H Home Economist in 1964. In her time as a 4-H educator in Wisconsin, she helped expand 4-H programs to urban areas and brought volunteer numbers to more than 1,000 in Rock County from 1967-73. She also assisted in the 1969 creation of the University Of Wisconsin Department Of Youth Development
Then from 1973-1978, 4-H took Merwin to the lone star state. In Texas she served as a 4-H Specialist and as District Supervisor for Home Economics and 4-H. There, she was tasked with integrating the racially segregated 4-H program. As part of the Program Division of the National 4-H Council from 1978-1986, Merwin helped move the National 4-H Service Committee from Chicago to the National 4-H Council in Chevy Chase, Maryland. If her involvement in 4-H was not already spectacular, Merwin also coordinated the National 4-H Awards programs and National 4-H Congress from 1980-1985.
From 1987-2001, Merwin served as Executive Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County, NY. There she supervised 18 Extension Agents, 25 program assistants and 10 support staff and managed a 50+ acre 4-H camp. While she worked in New York, the county program and annual budget grew from $600,000 to $4.95 million. Merwin also served on the committee to establish National 4-H Urban Programs.
“Mary Kaye Merwin’s lifelong dedication to positive youth development through 4-H is the epitome of service,” says John de Montmollin, Wisconsin 4-H Youth Development interim co-program director. “She has touched countless lives and continues to provide a shining example of the leadership and action that 4-H fosters.”
Now retired, Merwin continues as a Wisconsin 4-H volunteer and advocate from her current home in the Linn Township of Walworth County. She also currently serves on the Wisconsin 4-H Foundation Board, co-chaired the History Committee for the Wisconsin 4-H Centennial in 2014, and is a citizen member of the Walworth County Board of supervisors’ Extension Education Committee.
It is Merwin’s continued support and involvement in the 4-H program that exhibits how deserving she if for the national recognition of her unmatched efforts in youth development.
For more information on Wisconsin 4-H or UW-Extension visit, https://www.uwex.edu/