Grant Shrum was born in Missouri in 1926. Following graduation from the University of Missouri, Columbia, he served as a County Extension Agent in Franklin County, MO and on the state 4-H staff. He joined Standard Oil Company in Indiana and later served in World War II in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He completed graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin and Maryland. Shrum played a major role in the merger of the National 4-H Service Committee and the National 4-H Foundation into National 4-H Council.
Grant led a successful effort to raise $10 million to expand the National 4-H Center and helped increase the number of countries that have programs similar to 4-H. He is a member of American Society of Association Executives, Washington Metropolitan Board of Trade, National Farm City Committee, Inter-American Youth Technical Committee, National Agricultural Advisory Committee of the National Association of the Partners of the Alliance, Agricultural Council of America, and National Association of Extension 4-H Agents. He has served on several 4-H and youth education program national and international committees.
