Spotlight on: Dale Leidheiser
Extension Specialist
4-H Youth Development
I grew up knowing that, if he
wasn't home, my dad was at another night meeting. I traveled around the county
with him in the summer time visiting orchards, vineyards, and farms. On spring
and fall weekends we'd volunteer at a small 4-H camp that my dad helped start
on an island in Lake Erie where we built cabins, painted, cleaned, and did
electrical and plumbing work. And, on occasional fall weekends I'd go to an
Ohio State football game! That was my life growing up as the son of an
Extension professional. So was I really a slow learner to engage in this
career? My experience in the Eaton Aggies 4-H Club made it clear to me that I
didn't want to talk in front of any group at any time for any reason. But, as a
waterfront director and manager of a 4-H camp during college and grad school,
my affinity for the work, the youth and the colleagues changed.
My first
choice was to pursue a career teaching art at the college level. I received a
terminal degree in fine arts, had a fellowship to teach art in Italy, developed
a regional, national and international juried exhibition record and spent a
year looking for a position in my specialty. Meanwhile I was working as a 4-H
program assistant, among a variety of other jobs, and was accepted into a
master's program in extension education. I began to make the mental shift into
youth development.
So, I began work as a 4-H agent in a
rural Wisconsin county and focused my efforts on the things in which I was
interested: leadership development, health and wellness programs and lots of
outdoor education. It enabled me to camp, canoe, hike, cross country ski, and
pursue a lot of other activities I liked to do. Love brought me to Colorado
seven years later. Oh, bliss!
Working in Arapahoe County was
enlightening because of the ramped-up volunteer development skills of my
co-worker at that time. She could ask almost anyone to do almost anything and
they would almost always agree! What a role model?! A few years later, a campus
position opened up and I was fortunate to be hired as a specialist.
Now,
thirty years into a career, I've been able to develop our volunteer resources,
train staff, have an impact on public policy, and creatively pursue a wide
variety of personal interests and program needs. It's been the intersection of
interests and needs where I've had the most fun. Program development related to
volunteerism, jobs, economics and careers, character education, community
development/service, and GPS/GIS technology have been the areas in which I've
had the greatest impact.
Now when I drive around the state, I think
about my dad and mom, their careers and how they evolved. I still go to
Kelley's Island where my brothers and our families have an old winery built in
1867. I help out with the Ohio 4-H Sea Camp held at the island 4-H camp and
teach sailing. I try to attend an Ohio State football game every few years (you
can take the boy out of the Buckeye state, but you can never take the Buckeye
out of the boy). I enjoy getting up in front of groups to teach and facilitate
learning. And I love having been a part of the greatest youth development
program in the world.