Cathy C.Faust 

 Becky Bonner

 4-H Agent

bbonner@tennessee.edu 

 901-752-1207

Becky is the Extension Service’s primary contact with children and teens as the 4-H agent. Her role is to educate youth in grades 4-12 on a variety of topics, including money management, citizenship, leadership, communication, and agriculture. This is done through such programs as the Wildlife Team, Honor Project, photography and sewing groups, and contests for bread baking and public speaking. The “On My Own” program is directed toward high school-age students and teaches them about budgeting and managing money, based on mock scenarios. Since 2005, 8,000 students have been involved with the program, which is sponsored by Bancorp South.

 The primary goal of Becky's work is to help prepare youth to become productive citizens as they head to college and/or careers and to teach them real-world life skills that will help them as adults. Most of the programs are conducted in schools, community clubs, and libraries.

 Master Gardeners can assist the 4-H agent in many ways, including serving as judges for 4-H contests, volunteering for the “On My Own” program and with the Mid-South and Delta Fair’s Corn Crib. Money raised through the Corn Crib helps pay for ribbons, trophies, and award banquets. There is also a need for help with clerical duties such as preparing books used in programs or assembling curriculum and camp information.

Christopher Cooper

 Horticulture

 901-752-1207  

 cmcooper@utk.edu

  As the Extension Service's Horticulture Agent and Coordinator for the Master Gardener program, Chris is a familiar face to most in the program, having just started his second year in the county. Chris's primary job, in addition to his work with the Master Gardener program, is to plan, develop, coordinate and conduct educational programs addressing issues that affect urban, commercial and home horticulture.

   Master Gardeners can volunteer to help Chris conduct horticultural education programs and workshops and respond to the public's questions through the Gardening Hotline. There are also opportunities to gather research-based information for programs, meet with homeowners, and present programs to the public. The most important skill needed is an interest in interacting with the public on a subject of expertise.     

Mike Dennison

Agriculture Agent

 mdennison@utk.edu 

 901-752-6240

  Mike will work on a 50% appointment, initially helping ease the transition period for the new County Director, Cathy Faust.  He will continue his agribusiness programming activities through involvement with Agricenter International, the Memphis Ag Club, the Mid-South Fair and farmers and agribusinesses in the Shelby County area.  He will also continue to train Master Gardener and Master Urban Forester interns in the Memphis area about insects and plant diseases.  He will also continue to train Master Beef Producer interns about environmental concerns.  Any time left over will be filled by handling questions regarding commercial agriculture that come through the county Extension office.  

Sharon Genus

 Family & Consumer Science

sgenus@tennessee.edu 

 901-752-1207 

 Sharon works mainly through the Tennessee Nutrition and Consumer Education Program (TNCEP) teaching limited and low-income children, adults, seniors, and/or those with special needs about healthy nutrition, food preparation and safety, being self-sufficient, and purchasing with food stamps. TNCEP is supported by a grant that allows Sharon to present her nutritional education through schools, churches, food banks, Tennessee Department of Human Services, Salvation Army, or any organization that helps or is in contact with limited and low-income people using food stamps. TNCEP is supported by the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service, Tennessee Department of Human Services, USDA Food and Consumer Services and in-kind contributions from the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service and county coalitions.

 Volunteers may join an advisor coalition that meets at the Memphis Food Bank for one hour the last Monday of every month at 3 pm. The coalition brainstorms presentation topics and welcomes new referrals. Monthly attendance is not required, but appreciated. Email Sharon for more details or to subscribe to the coalition email list.

Cortney Holloway

Urban Garden Program   

chollow5@tennessee.edu 

 901-752-1207

 Cortney primarily works with the Memphis Urban Garden Program helping oversee 1,900 people who cultivate 40 community gardens. He works mostly outdoors in the urban areas of north and south Memphis and primarily with seniors and youth with low-income backgrounds. He helps them get their gardens started by tilling the soil, providing seeds and/or plants and then assigning rows to participants. He also conducts presentations at community centers, nursing homes, and independent living centers. He likes to say, "Gardening is the only game children can play with their grandparents."

 Help is needed operating community gardens by bagging seeds, helping with garden clean up, and planting. Most of the work is done in the spring and the fall. No special skills are needed.

Rita Jackson

4-H/Family & Consumer Sciences

ritaj@utk.edu

901-752-1207

Rita is an area extension specialist serving three Tennessee counties: Shelby, Madison, and Carroll. One of her primary jobs is to oversee the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program that targets low-income families and teaches nutrition education. She supervises and trains 15 educators who live in the communities served. The program serves primarily low-income adults and young children. Rita’s goal is to help educate and change the behavior of families so that they make sound nutritional decisions. She also oversees a teen pregnancy program that focuses on nutrition. The youth nutrition and food safety program is taught once a month in the city schools, primarily for those in the fourth and lower grades.

 Volunteers are needed to assist at health fairs handing out brochures, typing up programs and other materials, and helping organize and sort foods into food groups. Volunteers with foreign language skills also would be especially helpful. March, which is National Nutrition Month, is a particularly busy time with many requests to conduct health fairs. Volunteers work at a variety of locations around the city, although some clerical work can be done in home or at the Agricenter International offices.

Becky Muller

Agricultural Extension

beckymuller@utk.edu 

901-752-1207

 Becky Muller is the agent responsible for teaching new research-based technologies to area farmers, specifically in the areas of row crops, livestock, forestry, and ponds. Her primary contact is with adults in rural areas and outdoors. The primary goal of her work is to help farmers and forestry professionals control the cost of production in order to increase their profits.

Becky occasionally could use the help of Master Gardeners on field days, preparing letters, handling mail-outs and maintaining mailing lists. She also needs help planting a variety of trials for cotton and corn. Volunteers could be asked to lift heavy loads and may need some computer skills to help with mailing lists.

Natalie Owens

Family & Consumer Science 

nowens2@tnstate.edu   

901-752-1207

Providing nutritional education to low-income adults, seniors and children is Natalie's primary task. Her work is funded through the Tennessee State University Nutrition Education Program, whose goal is to help these families and individuals develop better nutrition and dietary practices. She works through schools, community centers, churches and other organizations.

 Those interested in this work can help by serving as a referral source. Master Gardeners can help by sharing gardening tips or teaching families how to grow food in containers and enhance their food supply through community gardens, demonstration techniques, and/or presentations.

Tim Roberts

Youth Education 

Tim.roberts@utk.edu

901-752-1207

 Tim works mostly with children and teens regarding agriculture, forestry, and natural resources. He interacts with grades K-12, adults, seniors and those county residents with special needs. Tim says the goal is to educate youth regarding the importance of agriculture (e.g., to let them know that milk doesn’t come from a jug at Kroger) and of forestry (e.g., to see past the trees to the products they use everyday that come from trees). He works primarily in outdoor classrooms, including the Agricenter amphitheater. In addition to state funding, Tim’s programs are supported by agribusinesses that help subsidize the cost of transporting students from throughout west Tennessee, north Mississippi and eastern Arkansas to the Agricenter.

 Volunteers are needed to help prepare materials for educational programs and to even help lead programs for some groups. Master Gardeners can also serve as tour guides, plan some programs, serve on the Plant Camp Planning Committee and donate recyclable items such as milk jugs, drink bottles, and plastic containers for programs. Many of Tim’s programs are in the September through mid-November timeframe, but more are now being held in the spring, as well. Most of the programs are held at the Agricenter. The only skill required is an interest in educating youth and sharing your knowledge about plants with them.