Date: 1/23/03
Contact: Deborah J. Thomason (864) 656-5721; dthmsn@Clemson.edu
Writer: Susan Bedingfield (864) 656-3876; sbeding@clemson.edu

Clemson Extension team members honored at national meeting

CLEMSON -- Clemson Extension personnel were honored at the annual meeting of the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents recently in Norfolk, Va.

Clemson's Building Family Strengths team was named as regional and national winner for Excellence in Teamwork. Team members received a certificate, and the team was awarded a plaque.

"We were honored to have won this award. The team members not only gave their expertise, but also assisted with the development, piloting,  evaluation and marketing of the program curriculum," said Deborah Thomason, curriculum co-author, associate professor and Extension specialist for Family and Youth Development. "This was truly a team
approach."

The program is based on ethnographic research conducted by state specialists that identified 10 common family strengths in South Carolina families. Currently being used in 19 states in a variety of educational settings, the curriculum is a holistic approach that
addresses the family development needs of the entire family life span.

Team members from the counties include: Kellye Rembert, Lexington and Richland; Lana Tietjen, Marion; Latosia Gibson, Colleton and Jasper; and Barbara Brown, Sumter.

State Extension staff team members were: Amy Merck, Deborah Thomason, both Department of Family and Youth Development and Brenda Thames, College Health, Education and Human Development.

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