Francis Pressly

    National 4-H Council
    2012

    Director of Domestic & International Programs, Nation 4-H Council

    Stony Point, North Carolina

    Francis Pressly established his excellence early as an Iredell County 4-H member. He won numerous state project awards, attended National 4-H Congress, served on the Report to the Nation team, and was a Thomas E. Wilson Citizenship Award scholarship recipient. Motivated by his 4-H successes, Pressly extended his skills and development impact to NC 4-H, then Italy, Brazil and the world. Pressly was 4-H Agent in Davidson County and helped transition 4-H Clubs to community based settings. From 1962 to 1984 he devoted his talents to the National 4-H Foundation/Council, where his international interests firmly established him as a recognized authority on youth programming.

    Beginning in 1962, Pressly led the National 4-H Foundation Brazil 4-S Peace Corps Project for the expansion of rural youth clubs. Its success motivated Peace Corps to fund similar projects in other countries. In 1965, Pressly became Director of 4-H International Programs overseeing 4-H international exchanges, development and training projects. He helped initiate the Youth Development Project in seven countries and was the prime force behind the Young Agricultural Specialist Exchange Program with the Soviet Union. He was later named Managing Director of Programs, covering both domestic and international programs. After retirement, he and his wife Sibyl restored and operated the Mast Farm Inn, Valle Crucis, NC.

    Quote

    For many who grow up in 4-H, the life skills learned influence everything they go on to do.

    You take those lessons, that personal growth, that broadened perspective and apply it to your career.Any difference I may have made was in some way shaped by my experience in 4-H.

    4-H for me, like for so many others, was the beginning of everything. It was the door to the rest of my life.

    My 4-H Story