Stephen Cassell

For Stephen Cassell, 4-H meetings, camps, and events took him to new places, introduced him to new people and taught him lessons he would carry with him for the rest of his life.

To ensure that other youngsters would experience the same growth, in December 2006 Cassell created a WVU Extension Service 4-H endowed scholarship fund for Pendleton County youth. The endowment will support county and state camping as well as travel and training expenses for judging teams from the county.

Creating an endowment for camping scholarships for Pendleton County 4-Hers seemed only natural to Cassell.

?I would definitely recommend that others create endowments to support the mission and programs of 4-H. In 4-H there is so much to do to keep the interest of youth, to help expand their interests,? he said.

Cassell, 37, grew up in the 4-H program in Pendleton County. For the past 2 ½ years he has been the general manager for the Mexico Division of Stryker Corp., a leading, worldwide producer of medical products and services.