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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Earl
Ray Gill
Elected To Florida
4-H Hall of Fame
By: Laura Lok
Public Relations Coordinator
Phone: (352) 846-0996, ext. 237
Contact: Lane Jimision
Florida
4-H Foundation, Inc.
Phone: (352) 846-0996, ext. 238
GAINESVILLE
— Earl Ray Gill, one of
Hardee
County
’s most valuable volunteers, has been elected to the Florida
4-H Hall of Fame. Gill was one
of five individuals to be inducted in 2006 at ceremonies held on July 27
at the
University
of
Florida
in Gainesville.
While Gill was a 4-H member, he
received top project awards and competed in state-level demonstrations.
He also held all club offices possible over his 10 year membership
and received county level citizenship and leadership awards.
“I believe 4-H’s motto, ‘Make the Best Better’ has influenced my
life the most,” says Gill. “Developing
skills from projects such as cooking, nutrition, photography, and
especially leadership has helped me become a more productive individual
who is always looking for ways to make life better for myself as well as
those around me.”
As an alumnus, Gill has served on the 4-H Advisory Committee and is the
current chair. For the past 25
years, he has served annually as a judge for county fair 4-H booth entries
in Hardee and DeSoto Counties. He has become a valuable contributor to the Hardee
County
4-H program due to his extensive 4-H knowledge, training and professional
education. He has guided and
directed the development of policies and procedures used in his county’s
program. Gill has also re-written and updated criteria for judging record
books, as well as the county’s club attendance policy and dress
guidelines.
Gill
was a teacher in
Hardee
County
for 13 years, a district level administrator for eight years, a teacher in
DeSoto
County
for six years and an Assistant Principal at Nocatee
Elementary School
for four years. “I look back
on my years in 4-H with pride, knowing that the skills I developed as a
club member have strengthened my desire to look for ways to make life
better for both myself and my community, whether at work, volunteering, or
at church,” Gill says.
The Florida
4-H Hall of Fame was established in 2002 to coincide with the 100th
Anniversary Celebration of the 4-H Program.
It currently contains the names of 117 inductees honored for their
service and dedication to the Florida
4-H. One hundred individuals,
living and deceased, became charter members during the 2002 founding. Florida
4-H is the youth development component of the University
of
Florida’s IFAS Cooperative Extension Service currently serving 241,000 youth
statewide and over 60 million alumni nationwide.
The four other 2006
inductees are; H. Fred Dietrich, III of Orange County, Frank Sullivan of
Brevard
County, Gladys Freeman of
Okeechobee
County
and Marjorie Modesky of Duval
County.
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