March Announcements

By: Amanda Graupner, regional educator 

The West Central Regional Team hosted its first regional 4-H Club Leader Training, bringing together volunteers and Extension educators from four counties.  

Eleven volunteers attended the training in person and nine attended virtually, representing experience levels ranging from no experience to 20-30 years. Five Extension educators and area director Josh Winrotte led the training, sharing the four aspects of positive youth development, available resources and statewide policies and procedures.  

The training served not only as an information touchpoint but also as a way for the volunteers from different counties to get to know each other. Educators planned the event so that in-person attendees ate dinner together at the beginning of the training, and everyone, in person and online, could participate in a group activity. 

Even though this was the first regional 4-H training, it was not the first regional 4-H collaboration. Starting in January, the West Central 4-H educators — Emily Ade, Dilynn Harmon, Ashlee Merryman, Deidra Nicely and Will Walls — began meeting bi-weekly. Will says the meetings have allowed educators to share responsibilities, collaborate on different ideas and formulate ways to bring the four-county region together. 

“As a new educator, getting to work in the West Central Regional Team has been a great opportunity,” Will said. “It’s been nice being able to rely on each other’s different strengths and range of experiences as we’ve worked together to create events like the West Central Regional Club Leader training.  

“The best part has been the relationships built between the 4-H educators. We know if there is something we don’t know or are unsure about, that there are team members who can help us through any challenge.” 

By: Kelsey Meyers, health and human sciences regional educator 

4-H youth development educator Brittnee Bertram organized a multi-county Veterinary Science Workshop that brought together 15 4-H members for an interactive, career-focused learning experience. The workshop partnered with a local vocational agriculture program, where the teacher and students helped deliver hands-on instruction, giving participants exposure to real-world veterinary science skills and career pathways. 

The program was opened to youth from surrounding counties, expanding access to specialized content and strengthening regional collaboration. Participants explored veterinary science concepts while building workforce readiness skills and connecting classroom learning to potential careers in animal health.  

Community response to the program was overwhelmingly positive. The vocational instructor and community members expressed strong support for the partnership and interest in hosting the workshop again, highlighting the value of collaborative, hands-on youth programming that connects education, career exploration, and community engagement across the East Central Region. 

By: Lily Thill, digital communications coordinator

We hope to launch the West Central and East Central regional webpages in April 2026. We plan to share more information about these pages, including URLs, in the next newsletter. For more information about what the regional pages will look like, please see last month’s update. 

By: Lily Thill, digital communications coordinator

Purdue Day of Giving is April 29 and remains one of the most successful single-day fundraising events in higher education. 

Counties within Regional Teams will continue participating as individual counties. 100% of funds raised go directly back to each county to support local Extension programming and needs. 

As in previous years, counties will determine how their funds are used to best support local priorities. 

As we continue to develop strategies to deliver programs regionally, we are focusing on broader reach, depth of expertise, reduced duplication, applied research, innovation and continued service for communities. Stay tuned for updates on the transformation in the next newsletter. 

If you have any questions about the Transformation, please email ExtensionTransformation@purdue.edu, and your question will be sent to the appropriate department. 

By: Extension Communication Committee (Jenny Clark, Olivia De Young, Rachel Dillhoff, Amanda Graupner, Molly Hunt, Kelsey Meyers, Lily Thill) 

Using AI Responsibly 

AI can be a great tool to help brainstorm ideas, catch spelling and grammar errors and repurpose content for different platforms. It can amplify our creativity. Certain uses, however, can take away from Extension’s message or cause potential legal issues. Check out Purdue Brand Studio’s AI policy here to learn about some of the do’s and don’ts of AI for marketing. 

Key Takeaways: 

• Avoid using AI to create synthetic artwork or imagery. 

• AI tools should not be used to produce images or interpretations of university trademarks, logos or branded elements.  
• Photos of Purdue Extension staff or program participants should not be uploaded to AI tools. 

Quick fix – Social media profile image 

Using your county co-brand as your Purdue Extension social media profile image is a great way to help community members find you quickly, and understand that the impact you make in their community is supported by Purdue Extension. If it's a 4-H page and you want the 4-H emblem included, please use the vertical Purdue Extension 4-H co-brand (the same as the state 4-H account). 

To create a social media profile image for your county, you can: 

• Use the Adobe InDesign template from Purdue Brand Studio, 

• Create a profile image in Marq by searching templates for “social profile photo acumin” or 

• Reach out to Olivia De Young at odeyoung@purdue.edu.