Florida 4-H Hall of Fame

Anthony S. "Tony" Jensen

Anthony S. "Tony" Jensen learned the value of 4-H as a 4-H club member in high school and throughout his professional career he supported 4-H youth. He started a 4-H forestry education program and developed the materials to allow youth and adults to learn. Eventually the program grew to include thousands of 4-H'ers in just a few years. He worked tirelessly to teach agents, volunteers and youth about forest resources and how they could better conserve them. At 4-H camps he was a faithful teacher and an excellent mentor for 4-Hers. The forestry project books he developed were used for more than 40 years. He collaborated with national leaders to translate his 4-H Forest Ecology project into a national program. He was on the organizing committee for the National Forest Ecology Contest when it began. Training agents and volunteer 4-H leaders and assisting with teaching 4-H youth was always at the top of Jensen's list of priorities. He organized and built natural resource educational programs before these programs were fashionable. By 1976 his programs were attracting almost 17 percent of all youth enrolled in 4-H at the time, which was the third highest enrollment in any project area. His dynamic personality and excellent leadership stimulated agents to promote natural resources projects.