2011 Development Awards
Outstanding Philanthropist: Jack & Helen Tyree
Jack and Helen Tyree have established the West Virginia 4-H Charting Endowment, which will support the 4-H charting program by funding charting materials, providing support for charting activities, and paying for expenses related to training those who work with the program. The 4-H charting program is a personal growth assessment in which youths are encouraged to learn about themselves and stretch their individual limits.
Tyree is a Cabell County native who started in 4-H as a youth and began his 4-H career as a WVU Extension agent in Petersburg.
“The program has been, is, and always will be significant in my life,” said Tyree, 95. “4-H has helped me build a firm foundation that guides me. I thank those giant visionary designers and builders of 4-H programs that have been and are significant in my life and the lives of thousands of other children and youth.”
He earned his degrees from both WVU and Cornell. Tyree is known throughout the West Virginia 4-H ranks, though he left the state in 1950. But while in West Virginia as an Upshur County 4-H agent, Tyree assisted with organizing the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents and was elected chairman of public relations for the executive committee.
Outstanding Organization: West Virginia Cashin Recyclables Inc.
West Virginia Cashin Recyclables Inc. has contributed extensively to the Putnam County 4-H program, establishing two endowments to support the program in the county.
Company co-owner, Frank Baird, and his business partner, Al Howard, established the West Virginia Cashin Recyclables Putnam County Scholarship endowment and the West Virginia Cashin Recyclables Putnam County 4-H Endowment through the WVU Foundation.
“While it’s the company that established the endowment, our employees are all just as committed to investing in the local community, and in our state, to make it a better place,” said Baird. “It is important to see that our kids are educated.”
Baird has been in the recycling business in West Virginia for more than 40 years. He founded West Virginia Cashin Recyclables in Putnam County in 1987. The commercial recycling company, one of the largest recycling companies in West Virginia, employs more than 40 at its Nitro location, where it recycles ferrous and nonferrous metals, along with paper and plastics.
Outstanding Partner: Wood County 4-H Leaders Association
The Wood County 4-H Leaders Association has taken a lead in establishing an endowment to support sustainability of the program. The Wood County 4-H leaders have pledged $25,000 to create their own endowed account and will raise funds over the next five years to reach their goal.
“Wood County 4-H created an endowment to support and enhance the 4-H program now and in the future so that funds are available for generations of youth who participate in our club, after-school, and camping programs,” said Vickie Taylor, president of Wood County 4-H Leaders Association.
The West Virginia 4-H program now has six county endowments specifically tailored to 4-H organizations that allow the “spend,” the cash generated from the endowment, to be disbursed to the organization in one lump sum each year in July.
Outstanding Resource Development: Margaret Miltenberger
Motivated by Richard Louv’s groundbreaking book Last Child in the Woods and concern for the safety and privacy of Mineral County campers, Margaret Miltenberger took on the project of coordinating the fundraising to build two new bathhouses at Camp Minco.
Ground was broken on the project in September, and Miltenberger led the charge, helping to raise and secure more than $100,000 in donations and legislative grants and more than $100,000 in in-kind gifts of materials and labor.
Miltenberger has been the agent in Mineral County for 15 years. She earned her undergraduate degree in family and consumer sciences and her MBA from Virginia Tech.
Outstanding Volunteer Fundraisers: Mineral County 4-H Leaders Association
The Mineral County 4-H Leaders Association rallied the community to raise funds for the Mineral County 4-H Camp Minco bathhouse project, a more than $200,000 project. Members of the association held events, and made phone calls and personal solicitations to assist with the project.
2010-11 Legacy Leaders: M. William and Charlotte Hughes
For Charlotte Betler Hughes, becoming a 4-H’er was as natural as breathing.
Her parents, Mildred and Raymond Betler, were both 4-H members in Randolph County. Her mother was a 4-H All Star and attended the dedication of the Randolph County Cottage when Charlotter was a young camper. The program was a family affair for the Betlers, as all five children, Charlotte the oldest, were members of 4-H.
“Our parents were always supportive of our 4-H experiences,” Charlotte said. “Mother was a leader and the ‘go to’ expert for sewing advice for her club members and my friends. Daddy welcomed young 4-Her’s as they learned woodworking skills at his workbench.”
Charlotte and Bill Hughes placed the 4-H program in their wills, leaving a significant contribution when they pass to the Harrison County 4-H program to support their existing Hughes Family 4-H Endowment. The endowment currently provides state, county, and weekend camp scholarships to Harrison County 4-H’ers. Charlotte grew up in Nutter Fort.
It was in the early 1950s that Charlotte joined the newly formed 4-H Club in Nutter Fort and remained in the program until she aged out at 21.
