 Powell Bids Goodbye to Tennessee 4-H
State leader retires after 38 years
with extension.
by Chris Buckner
It's the end of an
era for Tennessee 4-H.
Ben Powell, state 4-H leader since 1981, retired in September
after 38 years of service to the organization that's dedicated to teaching
life skills to youth through its many and varied programs.
Powell is admired by his peers for his many achievements,
but more importantly, he has played a special role in the lives of thousands
of Tennessee youth enrolled in clubs throughout the state. He frequently
visits 4-H'ers in action and says he enjoys watching them participate in
events such as livestock shows. "I enjoy seeing young people learn
by experiencing something rather than just reading it in a book," he
says. "That's the way we do it in 4-H-learning by doing."
It's precisely this kind of learning that 4-H'ers have
relied upon since the club was established 85 years ago. The organization
uses traditional programs such as livestock raising and home economics plus
other project options as a basis for instilling life skills inherent to
successful leaders. Through 4-H projects, kids learn responsibility, decision-making
skills, public speaking and, at the same time, develop self-confidence.
Powell, a UT graduate, received his B.S. in animal science,
when it was still called animal husbandry, and later earned a master's degree.
In 1959 he became an Extension agent in Rutherford County, where he served
until 1969 when he was appointed to the state 4-H staff. Powell has seen
a lot of changes in 4-H since becoming state leader and is proud of its
many successes.
The Watertown, Tennessee, native cites the development
of a comprehensive literature package, something no other state has, and
the publication of a Tennessee 4-H history as two achievements in which
he takes great pride. He also is especially fond of the livestock programs,
which have been a staple of the state's clubs.
"I guess I'm partial to the animal projects,"
Powell says. "I have always felt it is really important for young people
to have a live animal to work with sometime during their developing years.
There are just so many things you can learn from animals." Powell himself
raises Hampshire and Southdown sheep on his Knox County farm, following
a tradition that dates back to when his great-grandmother Annie Neal Powell
first introduced sheep to the family farm in rural Wilson County.
Powell is quick to credit others for the success of 4-H
in Tennessee, which has more youth enrolled (about 180,000) in clubs than
any other state. He acknowledges the support of local schools, which bring
4-H into the classroom, and the UT administration for placing youth program
agents in every county.
But Powell takes a special interest in the kids. "I
guess the overriding achievement is just seeing young people who have been
through the 4-H program succeed in life," Powell says. "Although
other factors are certainly involved, many people often give credit for
their personal success to their 4-H experiences."
Powell's own three children (Mark, Thomas and Amy) were
all active 4-H'ers, and Amy is now a 4-H agent in Loudon County. But Powell
says it was a 4-H affair from the beginning, for it was through 4-H that
Powell met his late wife, Charline, an agent in Lawrence County. They met
when both attended, as agents, the same 4-H camp.
As 4-H heads into the 21st century, Powell hopes the organization
will adhere to its many established programs while expanding its emphasis
on volunteer leadership. He says the future of 4-H will include many progressive
projects designed to prepare youth for the work force as well as a more
intense focus on health and the environment.
"I hope that 4-H will continue emphasizing the traditional
projects and use them as a base for reaching more young people and helping
them have an opportunity to develop life skills," he related. "That's
what 4-H is all  about." |