By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH Indiana Correspondent FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Purdue University’s Allen County extension office lost nearly 60 years of experience when two educators retired at the end of September. Vickie Hadley served as health and human sciences educator for 25 years and as the county’s extension director since 2012. Barb Thuma, 4-H youth development educator, worked for extension for 32 years, including 27 in Allen County. The two hadn’t planned to leave but Purdue offered early retirement to educators age 55 and older with five years or more experience. Statewide, 23 educators – about a third of those eligible – representing about 550 years of experience opted for early retirement. Hadley taught vocational home economics for the East Allen County Schools before joining extension. She appreciates that she was able to continue to instruct in her extension role. “I enjoy teaching,” Hadley said. “I enjoyed seeing people grasp a concept, apply it and have it make a difference in their lives. I’ve enjoyed working with all the different agencies within the community.” For Thuma, working as 4-H educator allowed her to pursue areas of personal interest, such as teaching science to students. “I’ve seen two generations of 4-H students in Allen County,” she noted. “That’s been nice to see. I have enjoyed my co-workers across the state. I also appreciate that I’ve been able to attend conferences for training and to learn new things.” Hadley is from Churubusco and farms with her husband, Roger, in Woodburn. She has bachelor of science and master’s degrees from Purdue in vocational home economics education. She had been a teacher for 16.5 years when she was asked if she’d be interested in applying for the extension job. She already served on the extension board and was previously a 10-year member of 4-H. How extension programming is offered has changed over the years, Hadley said. “When I first came, educational programs were offered every month, and they were offered two times a day – the same program during the day and in the evening. We offered the programs and got an audience. “It’s much more difficult to advertise a program today and get an audience. Today, people have so many options on what they can do. With the internet, there are options for where they can get the information. They want to access information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They want instant gratification.” Community development is a bigger part of the job than it once was, she added. For example, the extension office provides financial education requested by area agencies. It also offers programs such as ServSafe, which provides food and beverage safety training. Thuma is from western Ohio and has a bachelor of arts degree in biology from Goshen College and a master’s in plant pathology from The Ohio State University. She became interested in extension while at OSU. “I had graduate school professors who did extension work. I applied for jobs in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, and Purdue offered me a job. I was a 4-H educator in Knox County for five years before moving to Allen County. I wanted to be closer to where my parents lived and I wanted to move to an urban area.” In retirement, Thuma plans to travel, possibly do some volunteer work, and finish three comforter tops for family members. “I hope I’ve been a decent role model as an adult. I hope people felt a sense of belonging. I hope they’ve learned a skill in a specific area.” Hadley said she plans to become more active on the farm and to travel to see her seven grandchildren. “I have a sewing and craft room and I have lots and lots of crafts to work on. I want to do things because I want to do them. I want to slow down. I thoroughly enjoyed my job and will miss the people.” Hadley and Thuma said replacements will be named for their jobs, though they didn’t know when. BARB THUMA, left, and Vickie Hadley retired in late September from Purdue University's Allen County extension office. (Photo provided) |
