Published: April 14, 2008 05:44 pm            

Youth director

DUNCAN — While some may think that her first name is spelled wrong, Kimbrely Davis readily defends it by saying that her father, Cotton Davis, filled out the birth certificate wrong.

“But we never changed it to Kimberly because my parents and doctor thought it made my name special, so it stuck,” Davis said.

Recently, Davis was hired by Duncan’s Oklahoma State University’s (OSU) Extension office to be in charge of the 4-H Youth Development program.

After being away at school and then a job in Kansas, Davis, who is a Hastings native, is excited about the opportunity to work and live closer to home.

“Hastings is in Jefferson County, and growing up I would come up to Duncan to be a part of the horse 4-H program,” she said. “I’ve been away for a long time working and going to school, so it’s nice being closer to home.”

While she is excited to being closer to her hometown, she is just as excited about her job and what is offered through her office.

“From the womb to the tomb we have knowledge that can help you,” Davis said.

“Most people think of 4-H as dealing mainly with cows and plows. But we actually have over 60 project areas that include robotics, aerospace, engines, electricity, shooting sports, etc.”

Her goal is to help each individual maximize whatever interests he or she has through a more hands-on approach.

“We believe that you learn by doing things,” Davis said.

“We take an interest that someone has and help them learn from it. We want to help create the people, not necessarily the skill.”

She gave public speaking as an example on how the 4-H process works.

“Most people are scared of speaking in public. But if someone can talk about something they are interested in, they will soon find they can speak about it in front of people.”

Before Davis can accomplish her aspirations for this area, she first wants to become acquainted with the people here.

“My first goal is to meet the people, get to know them and find out what their needs are,” she said.

“After that, the sky’s the limit.”

While Davis has just been hired, her background includes many ingredients that give her the required experience.

Part of her background entailed being with 4-H for 10 years, which she originally got involved with because of the influence of her parents.

“My mother, Mary, had been involved in 4-H when she was younger, my father had not,” she said.

“My father was retired for five years when I was born. I’m the youngest of six.”

She said because her father was retired, he was able to be more instrumental in raising her and ultimately decided it would be a good thing for her to do.

“We had livestock and I became involved,” Davis said.

While she was growing up, she had opportunities to visit Ousts campus and see what opportunities were available to her because of her involvement in 4-H.

“Because of 4-H, I was the first child in my family to graduate from college,” Davis said.

“I spent six years at OSU and got my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal science business and agricultural education respectively.”

Anyone who is interested in any of the programs available may contact Davis at the local OSU Extension Office at 580-255-0510.

        

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