Sharon Runion Rowland, 11-year Mitchell 4-Her, participated in Leadership, Citizenship, Nutrition/Preservation and Consumer Science. She attended 4-H Congress twice, as a National Leadership and State Consumer Education winner and was a National 4-H Conference delegate. Sharon served as Union 4-H agent with 1500 members, 22 who won National Congress honors. In 1983, Raleigh became her home where she poured her passion into 4-H Curriculum/Awards Programs. She was responsible for developing a new awards system, leading to completion of a $1 million endowment campaign. As “National Network for Health” Extension’s CYFAR Program Co-Chair, Sharon worked with 33 universities and served on the National 4-H Curriculum Committee.
In 1999, Sharon became Executive Director, NC 4-H Development Fund and turned her 4-H passion to lead hundreds of volunteers, helping them friend/fundraise more than $8 million in permanent endowments. These endowments supported 4-Hers, volunteers and parents, agents, NCAE4-HA and NC4-HVLA programs, and statewide programs. Her board initiated and completed an $11 million “Campaign for the Clover.” Volunteers helped obtain private/public funding for the Eastern 4-H Environmental Education Center and to establish the NC 4-H HLC (Museum), both funded by naming gifts. She friend/fundraised for the NC Cooperative Extension Foundation and helped establish the NC Extension FCS and ECA Foundations. Sharon and her husband established four 4-H endowments.
