Becky Barlow, a 46-year-old lab technician and musician, has been named Criag County’s Cooperative Extension Agent for 4H. She began work in late January.
The new 4H agent takes the position vacated last fall when Michelle Adcock left for a similar position in Montgomery County. The Craig Conty Virginia Cooperative Extension Service office lost its other agents in budget cuts last year. The office has been devoid of agents since last September.
Barlow enthusiastically endorses the spirit of Cooperative Extension. She wanted to become a 4H agent to help the community, she said. Her heart and soul is in rural living and she wants to be a part of that in Craig County.
The new 4H agent comes from Christiansburg, where she has lived for 14 years, though she also lived on a farm in another part of the state. Prior to becoming an extension agent, she was a laboratory technician with Virginia Tech. She recently completed her Master’s Degree in animal science at the university.
During her time at Virginia Tech, she worked with children by taking them on tours of the entomology department (where they study bugs) and has visited elementary schools to perform and show off her musical talents. “It was a natural progression in my mind,” to the 4H Extension Agent position, Barlow said.
She is looking forward to working with the children in Craig County. “I believe kids are the future, and we need to invest in them. 4H is the perfect way to do that,” Barlow said. Last fall Craig County’s 4H agent worked with 263 children and oversaw 19 programs. Barlow will begin to build the program back up as quickly as possible.
Though she has not yet met with the students during her recent raining period, she hopes to introduce her favorite hobby, music, to the children. She performs in “Celtibillies,” a local band, and plays hammer dulcimer, keyboard, and Irish drums. Some 4H programs involve music and she plans to offer those as well as others.
She has a wide variety of outdoor interests, including biking, hiking, kayaking, and cross-country skiing, and bird watching, so the youth in Craig County will have plenty of activities to choose from.
“I have a lot of science in my training, so we can do science projects too!” Barlow said.
As the only extension agents in the county, Barlow has been named unit coordinator for Craig County. She is busily meeting people and she is seeking a home in Craig County. She plans to move to the area as soon as she finds something.
County Administrator Larry Moore has also drafted her assistance with an anti-littering project, funded by a grant, in which children will play a part.
-Prepared by Shelly Koon
