FCS Professionals Receive Awards

This spring, Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Extension professionals earned recognition through four different award programs. The honors were for individual achievement as well as team projects.

• Elizabeth Coots, Woodford County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences, received the Kentucky Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (KAFCS) Leader Award. Coots is past-president of KAFCS and an active leader in the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. The award recognized her outstanding contributions to the associations as well as her accomplishments as a family and consumer sciences professional.
• Whitney Hilterbran, Scott County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences, received the KAFCS New Achiever Award. Hilterbran has served as secretary of the association and was installed as president in April. Prior to joining Extension in 2016, she taught family and consumer sciences in Grant County. The New Achiever Award honored her accomplishments as an early career FCS professional.
• Dr. Heather Norman-Burgdolf received the Outstanding New Extension Faculty Award from the Kentucky Association of State Extension Professionals. Dr. Norman-Burgdolf joined the Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition in January 2017 as Assistant Extension Professor and Extension Specialist in Food and Nutrition. Her primary programming emphasis is nutrition and chronic disease. The award paid testament to her outstanding contributions to Extension.
• The Family and Consumer Sciences Extension “Ask the Experts” Facebook Live video series was recognized by the Kentucky Association of State Extension Professionals with presentation of the Outstanding Project Award. Coordinated by Mindy McCulley, FCS Extension Specialist for Instructional Support, and produced by Brian Volland, Agriculture Communications Specialist, the monthly live video series addresses current issues related to family and consumer sciences. 
• Amanda Hardy, Henderson County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences, received the Mid-Career Award from the Kentucky Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi. The Mid-Career Award annually honors experienced Extension professionals who consistently exhibit leadership and excellence in Extension programming. Hardy serves as a leader in both Epsilon Sigma Phi and the Kentucky Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.
• Diane Mason, Boone County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences, received the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service Individual Extension Diversity Award. Through a series of hands-on cooking classes targeted for English as a second language participants, Mason reached more than 325 people in less than a year. The program is taught in collaboration with the Boone County English as a Second Language Program and attracts clientele who have not previously participated in Extension programs.
• Two Family and Consumer Sciences Extension professionals serve as members of the team honored with Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service Team Extension Diversity Award. Dr. Janet Kurzynske, Extension Professor in the Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, and Dr. Kerri Ashurst, Senior Extension Specialist with FCS Extension, are engaged in a team project reaching homeless and unstably housed youth and young adults in Jefferson County. The grant-funded project is led by Dr. Kenneth Jones, Extension Program and Staff Development Director, and partners with the YMCA in Jefferson County.

Congratulations to these outstanding professionals for their dedication and commitment to the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service!