Amanda Raines of Ada, 4-H Educator of the Hardin County office of Ohio State University Extension, has been recognized by the Ohio Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi for her work in 4-H youth development educational programming.

Raines received the award on Dec. 9 during the virtual OSU Extension annual conference. Epsilon Sigma Phi (ESP) is the national honorary for Extension professionals.

She is an Ada High School and Ohio Northern University graduate.

The ESP Early Career Service Award is given annually to an Extension professional who contributes time and effort to county and statewide educational programming and who takes an active role in promoting the Extension profession through their service to ESP and other professional associations.

This award was voted on by her peers and Raines was selected from Ohio and will go on for national consideration in 2021.

In addition, there were several other Hardin County staff who received awards. 

• Raines, Mark Light and Tori Kiran received first place in the creative works – educational tool category with their recreational resources publication for virtual 4-H club meetings.

• Raines and her colleagues won first place in the team teaching award for their statewide mental health retreat. This team will go on to represent Ohio in this category at the national level.

• Raines and Jami Dellifield received first place on their promotional flyer for their Mental Health 4-H SPIN club.

• Raines also received an individual award for her top newspaper column written to challenge the class of 2020. Jami Dellifield and the statewide Healthy Living team won first place for their blog and social media work.

“Hardin County can be proud of the state and national recognition for OSU Extension educators that are local to Hardin County,” said Mark Light. For more information on OSU Extension, see http://extension.osu.edu.