December 10, 2019
Welcome three new hires to the Kansas 4-H Team!
I am pleased to announce three recent hires that will be joining or have joined the Department of 4-H Youth Development. (https://www.kansas4-h.org/about/staff/) and updated organization chart (https://www.kansas4-h.org/about/staff/docs/OrgChartKS4H_Staff2019Dec.pdf).
1) Program Coordinator - Shannon Rogge (luckiksu@ksu.edu) – starting Monday, January 6, 2020. Shannon will be serving as program coordinator for many Natural Science programming areas including logistical leadership for events related to Shooting Sports Education, grain sciences, horticulture, wildlife, entomology, and environmental sciences. She will work primarily from the Sedgwick County Extension office as a State 4-H Office employee.
2) Office Program Assistant – Natalia Suarez (nsuarez@ksu.edu) – started Tuesday, December 3. Natalia will be serving as a key part of the state 4-H office team primarily working to maximize system processes through 4Honline and volunteer screenings. She will also serve as point of contact for Spanish language customer service requests and contribute to website and resource development to Spanish language audiences.
3) 4-H Scholarship Coordinator - Abbie Smith (abbiesmith0@gmail.com) – from November 20, 2019 until mid June 2020, Abbie will serve up to 12 hours a week monitoring and troubleshooting questions the KSRE system may have regarding 4-H Scholarships. We are fast in the process of updating forms this week and getting those posted.
Here is what she has to say about starting this position: "Hello, my name is Abbie Smith and I am this year’s Scholarship Coordinator. I am very excited to have been offered this position and I hope that I can help everyone with any questions that they may have about the application and process. I grew up in Wathena, KS on a diversified livestock farm with my parents and brother. I was very active in the 4-H program for 11 years in Doniphan County participating in State Events, the Interstate Exchange program and many other great programs that 4-H offers. I graduated from Kansas State University in May with a degree in Animal Science with an emphasis is business. I currently work full time for J-Six Enterprises in their nursery unit north of Robinson, KS. I was honored to receive two 4-H Scholarships while attending Kansas State and I hope to encourage others to apply for the scholarships."
She will be working remotely with every other week check ins. Email is the primary way to connect with questions to either her directly or via the State 4-H Office.
Thank you again for your patience as we onboard new staff and shuffle with new responsibilities. I am excited to bring talented staff to the team and we are dedicated to moving forward together.