Ed Schlutt started with 4-H as a member in 1932. He joined the 4-H staff in Texas in 1959, when their 4-H club program was grounded in public schools and depended on teachers and Extension professionals to teach and lead. Ed helped to bring 4-H into the community, where trained volunteers would teach, coach, counsel and lead 4-H youth. Along with a few county extension professionals, they succeeded within five years to set this new standard for Texas 4-H. Ed initiated urban 4-H program in the 1960’s and proposed new methods and approaches. This effective effort reaches an average of one million mostly urban youth in Texas 4-H today.
Ed continued to promote urban outreach when he moved to CA 4-H program in 1972. He developed new ways to involve minority urban volunteers, developing new educational projects and effective ways to recognize youth and volunteers. Ed helped to develop a public-private partnership to provide 4-H afterschool activities for youth in high crime areas of Los Angeles. He provided leadership for national, regional and state urban programs for 15 years. Ed also worked with the Western Region Extension Summer Schools that influenced dozens of Extension professionals and served as the coordinator of the NAE4-HA national meeting in San Diego in 1987.
