The annual MU Extension held its annual meeting and banquet at Grace Community Church’s The Gathering Place in Salem on Friday, Feb. 21. The event highlighted the work of MU Extension, including recognizing its Dent County Farm Family, MU Leader’s Honor Roll recipients, and outgoing and newly elected council members. Emily Poncher, Extension Community Health Specialist, gave the main presentation and discussed the health challenges facing Dent County and highlighted the start of a new department, Community Health Engagement and Outreach Department (CHEO).
Council President Tracy Strange gave introductions before attendees began their meal—a potluck style banquet, with food provided by the extension office. Strange thanked the office staff for organizing the event and for the work they do within the organization.
Beginning the evening with a speech on Dent County’s community was Brandi Richardson. Richardson, Extension and Engagement Specialist, covers Dent County and five other counties within the region. She spoke highly of the Dent County area—its community and its children, with highlights on the agriculture and youth programs like 4-H. The MU Extension provides research based programs to support agriculture, businesses, families and communities within the state, said Richardson.
“I enjoy my role as an extension engagement specialist, because I get to go into the communities and get to learn what their values are, and it's often very heartwarming to me—the experiences that are shared in groups and workshops,” described Richardson.
Richardson noted that from beginning work in Dent County, it reminded her of home. After digging into her family history, she realized that several relatives once resided here. She showed photographs of her family in the past and noted the difficult lives her family had—they were able to thrive through services and resources available through the Extension office. Extension has partnered with counties like Dent to ensure that rural areas aren't left behind, said Richardson.
“Through the years, Dent County Extension has been a shining example of what the partnership between county and campus can be,” further described Richardson. “Youth and adults have both benefited from the Extension model of education in learning by doing.”
Richardson discovered through her research that 4-H has been active in Dent County since at least the 1920s. Richardson described that Dent County and MU Extension share the same values, evidenced by the strength of the youth programs and vitality of its community support and volunteer efforts. In 2024 in Dent County, 239 youth received 8,400 hours of educational instruction and were led by volunteers that spent over 2,000 hours supporting those projects. There were over 2,100 hours of community service completed by both members and volunteers in the community.
“Thank you for being part of Dent County’s story, and a special thanks to the Dent County Commission, Judson Young Foundation, the City of Salem, Dent County Extension Council, both past, present, and in the future, and our many volunteers,” thanked Richardson. “We also appreciate that John Hewkin, district representative, and wife Lynne joined us tonight.”
Richardson then passed out special gifts to Janet Brannan and Cary Terrill-Steelman, Extension office staff, for their efforts in putting together the banquet and their further assistance with the 4-H Expo.
Community Health Engagement and Outreach Department
Emily Poncher, Extension Community Health Specialist, then gave a presentation on the Community Health Engagement and Outreach Department (CHEO), a brand new department within Extension. Poncher covers seven counties in the region, including Dent, Crawford, Franklin, Gasconade, Maries, Montgomery, and Belles. There are less than 15 members included on the CHEO team. It has a goal of addressing community needs at the community level while incorporating one-on-one education.
There are several initiatives within CHEO, including:
• Resilience training
• Brain disease and addiction, to help participants understand how substances affect the brain and the risk factors of substance use disorder
• Show-me recovery friendly workplaces, an initiative to support individuals in recovery integrate back into work
Poncher discussed with attendees social determinants of health, which are non-medical factors that aren’t addressed, such as food and nutrition, neighborhood and environment, economic stability, healthcare, education, and social context. She reviewed the demographic data of Dent County, stating that Dent is average for all of the counties she covers. It’s also a “rural” classified county with an average age of 43.7.
CHEO also completed a community voice survey to help analyze Dent County’s needs and understand what needs addressed, with results indicating concerns surrounding distance to providers, a lack of specialists, lack of insurance, and cost of care. Results also indicated a love for the sense of community and small town feeling. Individuals also noted some strengths were community health resources, such as WIC food pantries, access to Narcan, and strong community coalitions.
2024 Leaders Honor Roll
Council Treasurer Dalton Sanders recognized the 2024 Leaders Honor Roll recipients which include members of the community not necessarily affiliated with the Extension, but what recipients do for the community aligns with the goals of the Extension.
These recipients included Angela Smith and Heather Johnson. Smith dedicates plenty of time to Expo and the youth in Dent County. She is also one of the Salem Upper Elementary special education teachers. Johnson is Sanders’ co-teacher for agriculture at the Salem High School. Sanders described that Johnson provides her time in several different capacities—not just to FFA but to the community.
2024 Farm Family
Livestock Specialist Eric Meusch introduced the Missouri State Fair Farm Family. Each year, the state fair sets aside a day to recognize families from each of the 114 counties across the state. These families are selected from within the community to represent their county based on involvement in agriculture and participation in local outreach and programs like 4-H and FFA.
This year, the Farm Family that was selected was Willie and Stephanie Strader of Salem.
Dent County Century Farm
In 1976, the Centennial Farm project was initiated in Missouri, awarding certificates to persons owning farms that had been in the same family for 100 years or more. Ten years later, the University of Missouri Extension and the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources created the annual Century Farm program and recognition. The Missouri Farm Bureau joined as a co-sponsor in 2008. Since the program began in 1976, more than 8,000 Missouri farms have received the Century Farm designation. Landowners with farms that have been in the same family for 100 years can be recognized with signs, a certificate, and a booklet.
With the addition of last year's recognized family, there are over 40 century farms in Dent County. Last year’s recognized family was the Medlock Farm, which was homesteaded, shared Community Development Specialist Ray Walden.
Good Neighbor Awards
Janet Brannen, administrative support staff, shared that MU Extension teamed up with the Salem Community Betterment Association to honor a few members of the community that inspire others to do good.
Two members were recognized, including Charlie Grimm, an active member in the community garden with a history of showing people how to nurture and harvest plants. The other member recognized was Bob Gravely of Gladden. Brannen described that Gravely has shown up time and time again for his neighborhood, wheeling his neighbors trash barrels to the curb or picking up litter around the neighborhood.
Outgoing and incoming council members
Strange shared that three members of the council will be departing—including Elizabeth Burrus-Barnett, Randy Burrus, and Crystal Trosper. Incoming includes Cathy Burrus, Sierra Connell, and Mackenzie Wulff-Peterson. Re-elected council members include Lyndsey Loughridge, Krystal Sims, and Secretary Karla Tiefenthaler.
