Molly Parker Is The New Face Of The 4-H Program In Bath And Highland Counties

Warm Springs, VA – There’s a new face at the Virginia Cooperative Extension in Bath and Highland Counties. Molly Parker has taken over the position previously held by Christine Hodges. Molly talks about growing up in this area.

“I grew up here in the Allegheny highlands; I live about two miles below the Bath County line in Allegheny County so I have been familiar with the area all my life,” says Parker. “I graduated from Chatham Hall in Chatham, Virginia and then went on to Massachusetts to Mount Holyoke College where I studied theater arts and art history. So that was a great deal of fun, and something that I’m planning on hopefully sharing with the youth in the area.”

Molly found herself in the right place at the right time when the job opening came up.

“I started out in the Allegheny office and I was actually the unit administrative assistant which is basically the office manager,” she says. “And I worked there for almost 4 years. I got to see how everything worked, I got to study under some of the most wonderful 4-H agents, Jennifer Unroe and Christine Hodges, so I got to see how it was done. So when the job opportunity opened up for Bath and Highland County I decided to take a chance and I’m really very, very pleased I did.”

Even before her job officially started, Ms. Parker jumped right into the thick of the 4H work at the Highland County Fair.

“I started actually September 25th, so it hasn’t been that long,” she says. “One of my first assignments was the Highland County Fair. I had a blast; it was so much fun! The kids and their animals and the devotion that they have to them and the work that they put into it, it was really heartening to see. They also have a lot of fun; I enjoyed being part of both the show and the sale.”

“That was really my introduction to a lot of the students in the area which was a nice informal way to get to meet them, so I was really pleased with that.”

Ms. Parker has already been through a second big event in Highland County with the 4H group.

“Our first topic the first month I was here was Veterans Day which ended up being very fortuitous because you all had such a wonderful celebration here in Highland County for Veterans Day so I felt like the kids, even in the younger grades got to hear some of the information on that and had a little better understanding of how that came about,” she says. “We’ve also done some dramatic and theatrical work; I think drama is very important, it teaches children a lot about how to present themselves.”

In February, Ms. Parker will guide her group through the District Contest events. Molly is based in the Bath County Courthouse Virginia Cooperative Extension office and can be reached at 540-839-7261.