State 4-H Office
5741 Libby Hall
Orono,
ME 04469-5741
April 4,
1995
It is my pleasure to recommend to you, Katherine Watier. Kathy is an exceptional person who, I am sure, will be one of the successes of our world. I have known Kathy for over two years. I met her through my position as 4-H/Youth Development Associate on the University of Maine's State 4-H Staff. I am responsible for all statewide 4-H events and out-of-state 4-H trips. I came to know Kathy through her work in the 4-H program, local, county,. state and national. Kathy is a highly intelligent, very talented person.
I believe her strongest talent is her Leadership ability. I call this a "talent" as leadership comes so naturally to her that I believe she is one of the few "born" leaders. Give her a cause and she will strive to carry it as far as it can go. Tell her it can't be done, and she will work all that much harder to prove otherwise. As a teenager, she organized her school around what began as her independent 4-H project, and created a program that through song and dance, taught the audience about the global interconnectedness of our environment. Focusing on the Tropical Rainforest, her program has actually helped save acres of the Rainforest for the future.
Kathy speaks easily and well in public and in front of a television camera. She is wonderful to have on a committee as she works very well with others, always looking for the right answer, always looking for consensus, and always careful to keep the group on task. As I said above, when leadership is required, I have but to turn to Kathy and she will get the job done.
In mid-1993, Maine 4-H started to plan its first state 4-H teen conferencee. Making it the first 4-H teen conference since 1982 and the first ever to be planned by a committeeof teens. Kathy spearheaded this effort, the forefront and helping to make it happen. Largely because of her efforts, the conference was held on June 23-26, 1994 on the University of Maine's Orono campus. In an effort to reach as many teens as possible during the planning process, the teens chose to conduct exploratory meetings through the UMaine System's Interactive Television Network. This has never been done before by teens anywhere.
Under Kathy's guidance, the committee planned their approach and then asked Kathy to facilitate one of the meetings with high success. The teens also decided to try something else that had never been done before by teens, hold an international meeting between 4-H members via satellite as part of the conference. Teens in the United States (attending the Maine 4-H Teen Conference), Costa-Rica and Thailand held a one hour meeting and recorded successful results. As part of the meeting, each country prepared and aired a 10 minute videotape of their country and 4-H program. Kathy helped plan the meeting, helped plan and was in the 10 minute U.S. videotape, and participated in the meeting discussions via satellite. I had wanted her to facilitate the meeting but the USIA Satellite Programming Coordinator, who did not know Kathy, over-ruled me and placed me in that role.
As for the conference, itself, it proved to be one of the most successful 4-H teen conferences I have ever been associated with. She provided leadership to the general assemblies and the behind-the-scenes processes as well. Kathy knows what it means to be a leader and recognizes when a job needs to get done. Her talents have not only been recognized in Maine, but nationally as well. Her group was asked to present their environmental program at an international conference on the Rainforest held in Colorado and the United States Department of Agriculture Extension Service invited her to be a member of their National 4-H Conference planning team for 1994. All this and she has yet to reach her 21st birthday!
Kathy holds high grades and great potential. As you can see, I could go on and on. She offers ideas, leadership, advice, energy, responsibility, and more to all she becomes involved in. I highly recommend her to you. Thank you for the opportunity to tell you about Kathy.
Sincerely,
Ronald C. Drum
4-H State Program Leader
