Spotlight on: Jamie Jo Axtell
Extension Program Associate, 4-H/Youth - Livestock
Washington
County (Golden Plains Area)
Hi, my name is Jamie Jo (Mekelburg) Axtell.
I was hired in July to fill the position of Extension Program Associate, 4-H
Youth Development – Livestock Emphasis for Washington County and the
Golden Plains area. This is a half-time county-funded position.
I grew
up on a ranch in neighboring Yuma County and spent many years showing livestock
with the Eckley Trailblazers 4-H club. Besides livestock projects, I also
enrolled in cake decorating, cooking, and was active in the demonstration
contest. I showed for over 10 years at the Yuma County Fair and also exhibited
at the state fair and various Hereford state and national shows. As I started
high school, I also became active in FFA. After graduating from Yuma High
School and serving as a state FFA officer, I attended NJC and CSU majoring in
Animal Science.
During and after college, I worked in the
livestock industry including an internship with the National Cattlemen’s
Beef Association and some contract positions with the Colorado Livestock
Association. I was never a fan of Denver or other big cities so I sought out a
different position with a local feed company, Ranch-Way Feeds, in Fort Collins.
Even in Ft. Collins, city life was getting the best of me so in an attempt to
get back to rural life, I took a job working for a small agricultural college
in Curtis, NE as a college recruiter. I transitioned from the fast paced life
on the front range to the slow lifestyle of a town with only 800 people! I
loved working with college prospects and their families and enjoyed traveling
all over Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas and Colorado. In 2003, I moved
to Torrington, WY to take a better position as an admissions officer for
Eastern Wyoming College.
In 2005, I moved back to Colorado and married
my husband, Brian. We live near Anton and raise red and black angus cattle and
operate a small dryland farming operation. We have one son, Clay, who will turn
two in March. Outside my time at my new job, I am also employed as the district
manager of the Washington County Conservation District in Akron. In my spare
time, you can catch me chasing after my son, working cattle alongside my
husband and family, taking pictures, cooking or playing on the computer.