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 Nichols Assumes 4-H Leadership
Auburn,
Nov. 5,
2003 ---
Monday marked the first week on the job for Dr. Lamar Nichols, who was
recently selected as the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s
assistant director for 4-H and youth development.
Nichols will
provide statewide leadership for all 4-H youth development programs.
In this role, he will work with both Alabama A&M and
Auburn
University
staff on 4-H-related programs and seek ways to secure additional
funding for 4-H youth development efforts. He also will have overall
responsibility for the
Alabama
4-H Center in Columbiana.
A native of
Chilton
County,
Nichol’s 4-H roots run deep. He first experienced 4-H as a third-
grader participating in a youth livestock project with his other
siblings 41 years ago.
“I’ve been
involved in 4-H some way ever since as a 4-H’er, a volunteer or an
Extension employee. I know the value of 4-H because it provided a
rural kid like me opportunities to see and do things I otherwise never
would have done.”
Nichols credits
the experience he gained from 4-H with inspiring him to attend
college, earn an agricultural degree and pursue a career as an
Extension agent.
As the new
assistant director, Nichols’ first priority will be working with
Extension state personnel and field staff at A&M and Auburn
universities to develop a new 4-H strategic plan --- a process he
hopes to have well under way by spring 2004. As part of this process,
Nichols plans extensive travel throughout Alabama to solicit input
from Extension staff, volunteer leaders, 4-H’ers and other key
stakeholders.
“I want to travel
around the state to find out what the people of
Alabama
think we’re doing well and what we need to do in the future to improve
our efforts in the field, where our educational products are being
exchanged with our clientele.”
Nichols also plans
to work closely with the staff of the 4-H Youth Center to “capitalize
on what has already become an important resource for hands-on
education.”
“It’s a wonderful
facility, and
Alabama
4-H’ers should have the best natural resource education in the
nation,” Nichols said.
He also will seek
ways for 4-H to work smarter by making better use of volunteers and
searching for new sources of external funding.
While he said he
is excited about many of the new initiatives associated with 4-H work,
such as Junior Master Gardeners, Nichols wants to build on the
successful legacy of traditional programs.
“There are plenty
of opportunities to innovate by expanding into areas that
traditionally have not been associated with 4-H,” he said. “But there
are strong traditional programs that are still around and that present
a lot of opportunities for enhancing our work.”
“We’re going to
continue relying on the traditional programs we’ve been doing since I
was a child. But we are also determined to expand, improve and
innovate with the goal of building new programs.”
Unable to secure a
county agent’s position immediately following college graduation
because of a hiring freeze, Nichols worked briefly as the manager of a
livestock operation. In May, 1982, he was hired as an Extension agent
in Houston County, specializing in adult and youth livestock programs
and forage crops.
He served as an
agent in
Limestone
County
from 1993 until 1997.
In 1997, after
completing his doctorate, Nichols served as assistant director for 4-H
youth development programs in Wyoming.
In August 1998, he
relocated to
Tennessee
to serve as Cumberland District Extension program leader for the
Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service.
Nichols holds a
bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Western Kentucky University.
His master’s in business administration is from Troy State University,
Dothan. He earned his doctorate in strategic planning from
Mississippi State University.
Nichols is married
to the former Kim Woodham of Webb. They have a 5-year-old daughter,
Meg, and a 19-month-old son, Cody.
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