LaSalle Co. resident receives “Friend of Extension” Award

Staff
Posted 11/29/19

LA SALLE - Joe Temple of LaSalle County was honored on Nov. 2 by the University of Illinois Extension with a “Friends of Extension” award.

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LaSalle Co. resident receives “Friend of Extension” Award

Posted

LA SALLE - Joe Temple of LaSalle County was honored on Nov. 2 by the University of Illinois Extension with a “Friends of Extension” award. He was joined by friends and family for the presentation, which took place at the Extension’s Education Center and Community Teaching Kitchen in LaSalle.

Temple was chosen to receive this award in recognition of his support of the 4-H program, the Master Gardener program, and Extension as a whole. Through his many decades of service, he has positively impacted the communities and community members of LaSalle County.

Temple’s work with Extension spanned several decades, beginning as early as 1929 when he joined 4-H as a youth member. In the years since, he served as a club leader for the Serena Junior 4-H club for 12 years and was a member of the 4-H Advisory Committee. In addition, each year he sponsors trophies at the LaSalle County 4-H Fair in memory of his late wife, Dorothy.

Along with his involvement with 4-H, Temple also became a Master Gardener volunteer in 1993. For a time he served as the Master Gardener Program Coordinator. In 1997, he won the “State Outstanding Master Gardener Award”, followed by the “Sustained Master Gardener Award” in 1999. He also received awards for over 3,000 hours of volunteer service in 2004, and over 10,000 hours of volunteer service in 2012.

In October, 2018, Temple was given a 25 Years of Service Recognition Award. He has contributed to Extension in other ways as well – writing articles for the Over the Garden Fence section in the Ottawa Times for 12 years, and in many other quiet ways.