Exuding Excellence
Once a year, UNH Extension hosts an awards ceremony to celebrate a few of its own. Awards given this year recognized Andy Fast for his outstanding service to the forestry industry, Jesse Wright for her extraordinary dedication to farmers, and Jessica Decoteaux for her exemplary report writing that brought millions of dollars in relief to New Hampshire growers.
Awardees are nominated by their peers, and nominations are evaluated by a committee of Extension staff.
Excellence in Collaborations and Partnerships
Extension often sees its greatest impact when working with organizations, which is what the Excellence in Collaborations and Partnerships award recognizes. Andy Fast, forest industry state specialist, was described by his nominees as someone who is attentive to current industry needs and leverages relationships with like-minded agencies to meet those needs.
Two recent projects exemplify why Fast was the right choice for the award. Fast partnered with NH Department of Transportation and Vermont Rail to create a new transload station in Whitefield, which will help the state’s lumber industry compete in markets beyond New England. He also worked with several industry organizations, state agencies, and other UNH educators to create a credentialing program that can serve as an onramp into a career in forestry.
Exceeding at Extension
In the view of the awards committee, Jesse Wright, field specialist in agricultural business management in Rockingham County, is exceeding by helping the state’s farmers succeed. The Exceeding at Extension award highlights a person or team whose dedication and innovative approaches have inspired others.
Wright is described by her peers as an accessible expert who meets people where they are. Seeing a need to support the growing cut flower sector, Wright created programming described as “peer directed, expert informed.” Wright runs a New Farmer School and offers established operations one-on-one help with bookkeeping and marketing. Nominees noted that both of those programs tend to produce long-term relationships in which Wright helps farms for many years, contributing to their stability and success.
Excellence in Support
The characteristics that define Jessica Descoteaux, an administrative assistant in the Merrimack County office, are a proactive approach to problem solving and a commitment to continual improvement, according to the awards committee. Descoteaux is this year’s recipient of the Excellence in Support award, given to those who have shown outstanding service to Extension.
Descoteaux’s service, to both Merrimack County and Extension’s statewide Food and Agriculture Team, results in the timely delivery of critical information to growers. She leads the production of weekly pest management reports and multiple newsletters. Descoteaux’s skill at assembling complex information into clear reports can be critical, such as in response to freezes in 2023, when her abilities produced a report that helped secure millions in disaster relief for New Hampshire farmers.
Extension staff serve New Hampshire through the following program teams: Natural Resources, Food and Agriculture, Community and Economic Development, and 4-H.