A strong advocate for professional development, Keith spent his term as NAE4-HA president in 1996-97 encouraging and stretching Extension 4-H Professionals to gain and use new skills for reaching youth and strengthening NAE4-HA. Keith saw the end results of an innovative NAE4-HA board structure that offered more professionals an opportunity to learn and grow while serving NAE4-HA membership. A process that took nearly six years has now been in place nearly 20 years. Throughout the process, Keith was the constant catalyst encouraging the change. The outcome of this dedication has seen NAE4-HA membership steadily grow from 3,000 in 1996 to a record of over 4,000 members representing all 50 states in 2018.
Keith first served in Minnesota 4-H, where he developed a six hour TV series on youth business that aired on PBS in three states. The shows were made available to club members on tapes. He served on the MN 4-H Program Advisory Committee, MN 4-H Horse Committee, MN 4-H Foundation Board of Trustees and the 1984 National 4-H Conference planning committee. In Nebraska 4-H, Keith provided leadership for the State and District Communications contests. Due to his changes, participation grew by nearly 400% in the state contest, and district to state nominee dropout rate went from 19% to less than 2%. He served on National 4-H Congress Design Team 1993-2001 and chaired PILD Conference in 1998. Keith retired in 2002 after over 25 years of 4-H service.
