Dear Extension Family,
Following Dr. Holt’s announcement during the Extension Leadership Team meeting on the morning of November 2, I want to share that I will retire from Clemson University after more than 40 years of service. For the past 12.5 years, I have had the privilege of serving as Director of the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service and Associate Dean of Outreach and Engagement for the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences.
I am sincerely grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of South Carolina through Clemson’s land-grant mission. My career has taken me through several roles—including county agent, area agent, and Extension associate, Ag. Sciences Faculty member, Associate ANR School Director—and each one has deepened my appreciation for the work Extension professionals do in communities across our state.
As a seventh-generation farmer, I have always felt a personal connection to agriculture and to the people whose livelihoods and communities depend on it. Working alongside talented scientists, educators, faculty, staff, students, and partners to respond to the needs of South Carolina’s farmers and communities has been among the greatest honors of my career.
I am proud of what we have accomplished together to strengthen Clemson Extension’s connection with the citizens of South Carolina and to bring research-based knowledge to communities throughout the state. Thank you for your dedication, collaboration, and support. The relationships we have built and the work we have done together mean a great deal to me.
Dr. Holt has confirmed that Dr. Matthew Burns will serve as interim Extension Director, effective January 1. Dr. Burns has served in an Extension leadership capacity as Program Team Director and Associate Director for more than 12.5 years and I have full confidence in his abilities as the team moves through this transition.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve Clemson University and the state of South Carolina. I will always be grateful for the experience and for the people who made it so meaningful.
This has been a journey of a lifetime- working with the greatest people at Clemson, county admin staff, county agents, Extension Associates, Extension Specialists, CAFLS Faculty, State Agriculture Education Staff, and SC Ag Teachers. You guys have made coming to work every day an honor and a pleasure- thank you.
State Fair:
Thank you to everyone who volunteered and represented Clemson Extension at the 2026 South Carolina State Fair! Your time, dedication and enthusiasm helped showcase Extension’s programs and impact to fairgoers across the state. We appreciate everyone who helped make this year’s fair a success!
Creativity Takes the Ring at the South Carolina State Fair Dairy Show
The dairy show at the 2026 South Carolina State Fair was filled with creativity, laughter, and plenty of dairy spirit during the costume contest! Over the past few years, the contest has become a fan favorite, and this year’s 19 entries gave everyone plenty to enjoy.
Among the crowd favorites were “Mr. Mark Cathcart and the 4-H’er,” “Elvis,” who was all shook up for dairy, and “The Lorax and Friends.” Each entry brought its own personality to the ring, showing just how much imagination and effort the exhibitors and their families put into their costumes.
The contest is always something to see, and it’s clear that both the kids and their parents enjoy getting into the fun. Thank you to The Dairy Alliance for sponsoring the show and providing the prize money, and to Dairy Agenda Today for capturing all of these creative costumes on camera. We appreciate everyone who helped make this year’s contest so memorable!
4-H Poultry Showmanship Contest
Despite a rainy start, the clouds opened up and we had a beautiful Saturday at the Fair. In the 2026 South Carolina 4-H Poultry Showmanship event there were 50 enthusiastic participants.
Overall winners in the Clover division were:
- Levi Blake Reserve Champion winning a $25 premium and the APA Standard of Perfection book
- Silas Timms took Grand Champion winning a $50 premium and the APA Standard of Perfection book.
In the Junior Division:
- Titus Timms took Reserve Champion winning a $25 premium and the APA Standard of Perfection Book.
- Katie Timms was our Grand Champion winning a $50 premium and the APA Standard of Perfection book.
In the Senior Division:
- Emma Uhall took reserve Champion winning a $25 premium and the APA Standard of Perfection book
- Mary Anna Childers took Grand Champion winning $50 premium and the APA Standard of Perfection book
Our Championship Round came down to knowledge:
- Mary Anna Childers took Reserve Champion and a belt buckle and a $50 premium
- Emma Uhall took Grand Champion and a Belt buckle and a $100 premium.
For the first time this year we offered Two $500 scholarships to honor Mr. Clint Attaway who has dedicated 48 years to poultry at the state fair. These scholarship went to senior 4-H showmanship participants that have “paid in forward” with service to the 4-H Poultry Program. The winners this year were Blake Proffit and Mary Anna Childers.
And our thanks to Nancy Smith for supporting this show with premiums as well as staff support. Again a special thank you to Nancy for securing a $1000 scholarship from the SC Farm Bureau for Poultry Showmanship which went to Blake Proffit.
Thank you to my judges Jessica McManus, Kirsten Glenn, and Dr. Sarah Scott as well as Steve Hucks.
4-H Rabbit Showmanship Contest
What a fantastic day celebrating our amazing South Carolina 4-H members as they competed in the 2026 South Carolina State Fair 4-H Rabbit Showmanship on Saturday, October 17. 12 Cloverbuds, 11 Juniors and 14 Seniors competed for top honors.
Overall Winners:
Cloverbuds
1st Place – Cloverbud Grand Champion: Aubree Spencer, Colleton County
2nd Place – Cloverbud Reserve Champion: Solomon Lindbald, Spartanburg County
Juniors
1st Place – Junior Grand Champion: John Terry, Abbeville County
2nd Place – Junior Reserve Champion: Arden Epps, Dorchester County
Seniors
1st Place – Senior Grand Champion: Emma Hall, Abbeville County
2nd Place – Senior Reserve Champion: Blake Proffit, Clarendon County
Overall Grand Champion – Emma Uhall, Abbeville County
Overall Reserve Champion – John Terry, County
Thank you to South Carolina Farm Bureau for their generous sponsorship of a $1000 scholarship for Rabbit Showmanship which was awarded to Courtney Heyward, Beaufort.
Savannah Valley 4-H Market Hog Project
The Savannah Valley 4-H Market Hog Project provides South Carolina 4-H members hands-on experience raising hogs. This year, 13 4-H members took part in the project, which kicked off on August 22 with a brief educational program and parent meeting.
Participants exhibited their animals at both the Orangeburg County Fair and South Carolina State Fair Jr. Market Hog Shows. At these shows, 4-Hers also competed in educational contests, including knowledge exams, sales talks, and record book interviews, allowing them to build personal skills and prepare for future careers.
This project concluded at our annual Awards Program and Auction. This year’s event was held on October 25, 2026, at the Orangeburg County Fairgrounds. Thanks to the support of our community, nine animals sold for an average of $710.20, with 100% of proceeds going to our 4-Hers.
If you or someone you know is interested in supporting our program or registering for this project, please contact Garrett Ulmer at (843) 599-7163 or jgulmer@clemson.edu.
FFA Chapters Receive State Fair Scholarship
Four $500 scholarships were awarded to FFA chapters that demonstrate a commitment to strengthening agriculture and advancing the mission of the South Carolina State Fair. This scholarship recognizes chapters that actively promote agriculture, cultivate leadership, and engage their communities while inspiring the next generation of agricultural advocates while demonstrating the states fair mission of being “rooted in agriculture”.
Winning Chapters:
Palmetto FFA Chapter
Union County FFA Chapter
Buford FFA Chapter
Dorchester County Career & Technology Center FFA Chapter
4-H Update from Holly Jewell
I’d like to recognize two of our South Carolina 4-H Ambassadors, Eliza Pearl Terry of Greenville County (middle) and Mary Quinn Settle of Spartanburg County (right), for setting up a 4-H display in the Nutt Cattle Arena during the dairy show and getting interviewed by 4-H alumnus Allison Jewell. Not only did they show, but they also took time to talk to attendees about South Carolina 4-H.
Madelyn Anderson, Lancaster County, will be representing the South Carolina 4-H Horse Program, competing in Public Speaking, at the Eastern National 4-H Horse Championships in Louisville, KY, on Nov 7th.
We also have several teams competing at the South Carolina 4-H State Team Cooking Challenge at the Farm at Florence 1 on November 14th. These teams of 2-4 senior-age 4-H members will compete in a 40-minute cooking challenge to earn top honors here in SC and a chance to compete at the national level in the Spring.
2026 Sunbelt Ag Expo
The 2026 Sunbelt Ag Expo was another very successful farm show – and it brought wonderful weather as well! This year was South Carolina’s turn to be highlighted as the ‘spotlight state’, which last occurred in 2016. By serving as the spotlight state, our number of team members, educational exhibits, and overall Clemson presence practically doubled. Our team was certainly up for the task, and we provided the Sunbelt visitors with numerous interactive learning experiences. Thank you to every employee and student affiliated with the Extension and the Ag Mech/Ag Safety Sunbelt teams. We are also grateful to all of the units and organizations that assisted with the Expo, including CAFLS, Clemson MarCom, SCDA, SCFB, and all of our external partners that helped make the 2026 spotlight year such a success. This was a true team effort!
We were privileged to have several special guests from Clemson attend Sunbelt this year, including Dr. Matt Holt, Dr. Alton Standifer, and President Benjamin Ayers. Not only did they visit and tour our building and exhibits, but they also took their time to meet every single member of our team, and gain a thorough understanding of what actually transpires at Sunbelt. It meant a lot for the entire team to see their support in action for our Sunbelt efforts. And of course, the entire team is also appreciative of the support and funding received at the Organizational/Departmental Administration levels.
Special thanks to Zack Snipes for serving as the official nominator for our SC Farmer of the Year, Jeff Massey of Livingston’s Bulls Bay Seafood. In January, we will begin working on nominations for the 2027 Sunbelt Farmer of the Year. If you have ideas for potential nominees, please feel free to reach out to Brian Callahan at any time.
The dates for the 2027 Sunbelt Ag Expo are October 19-21, so mark your calendars! If you are interested in possibly joining the Extension team for 2027, please reach out directly to Brian Callahan or Millie Davenport.
Below are some pictures from the 2026 Sunbelt Ag Expo:
Butterfly Exhibit Featured at Sunbelt Ag Expo
One of the special exhibits featured by Clemson Extension at the 2026 Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, GA, was an interactive butterfly exhibit. The exhibit was proposed, organized and delivered by Anna Sara Hill, a low-country food-crop extension agent and was generously funded by the Director’s office. The goals of this exhibit were to promote general butterfly education, the SC state pollination initiative, and to give attendees an up-close encounter with live butterflies.
A 10’ x 20’ greenhouse tent housed the exhibit over the three-day event. The exhibit featured 500 live butterflies representing 6 species and a cage containing a chrysalis of a 7’th species, along with 120-plus nectar and host plants. All the plants used were donated by Charleston Aquatic and Environmental Nurseries (gold sponsor), Roots and Shoots (silver sponsor), Beaufort County Master Gardeners, Dr. and Mrs. James Riley Hill, Jr. and Barnwell Career Center.
The interactive exhibit quickly became an immersive experience for attendees as they walked through the tent, with butterflies gracefully flying around them. Many people were lucky enough to have butterflies land on their hands, hat, or clothing. Others had the unique opportunity to feed butterflies using a nectar-soaked Q-tip. On the last day, the butterflies were allowed to fly free, and participants were invited to help release them into the environment in compliance with USDA permits. The skies above the complex were filled with butterflies flying around for several hours. The plants were given away, and many attendees took them home to use in their own backyard gardens.
During their visit, participants learned identification tips, species-specific behaviors, migration habits of migratory butterflies and survival techniques of non-migratory species. The exhibit included nectar and host plant signage, providing flowering seasons and basic growing requirements, along with QR links to HGIC and NC State fact sheets, to provide attendees with educational information they could use to design and manage their own backyard butterfly gardens. The exhibit was rounded out with posters designed by Briana Naumuk (an upstate horticulture agent) that showed the complete life cycle, identification pics of each life stage, and highlighted interesting facts for each featured butterfly species.
The butterfly experience was well attended and included high-profile visitors such as the new Clemson President Ben Ayers (PhD), Vice President Alton C. Standifer (PhD) and CAFLS Dean Holt (PhD). All of whom had photo ops with butterflies. Many other attendees returned on the second and third days to connect with the butterflies. Attendee comments about the exhibit included: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience!” “This is the best exhibit at the fair “This is an exceptional interactive learning opportunity.” “Amazing,” “The butterflies are so peaceful and joyful…I just love it and don’t want to leave.” Everyone needs to experience this.” “This should be a permanent exhibit at the Sunbelt Expo.” etc. Several homeschool groups and individuals mentioned that the butterfly “experience” was a major part of their children’s learning scrapbook they were making about their Sunbelt trip. A few attendees expressed interest in developing butterfly gardens in their own backyards, and one attendee said she would like to incorporate a similar experience on her agrotourism farm.
Sincere thanks to everyone who contributed their time and energy in both large and small ways to bring this event to fruition. Their generosity, expertise, dedication, and support turned an ordinary butterfly exhibit into an extraordinary, immersive, and interactive experience.
South Carolina FFA Shines on the National Stage
From October 21-24, 2026, thousands of South Carolina FFA members joined fellow FFA members from across the country at the 99th National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, IN. This year’s convention welcomed 72,907 attendees under the theme “Evolve, Engage and Empower.” South Carolina members represented the state with pride, building leadership skills, exploring agricultural careers, participating in national Days of Service, attending workshops and competing in Career Development Events (CDE). This year, the Belton Honea Path FFA Chapter placed 12th in the nation which earned them a gold ranking in the Agricultural Mechanics CDE. The following FFA members placed Gold Individually in their respective CDE’s: Ryan Santor, (BHP FFA) Agricultural Mechanics, Cooper Lindley (Pendleton FFA) Floriculture CDE, and Riley Jennings (WTC Kershaw FFA) Vet Science CDE. In other national Career Development Events, seven SC FFA Chapters placed Silver, and 13 FFA chapters placed Bronze. The Carolina Forest FFA Chapter placed 2nd in the nation in the National Invitational FFA Quiz bowl!
Abagail Daniels, from the Ashley Ridge FFA Chapter, placed 7th in the nation for her Agriscience research project. Abagail’s research included a quasi-experimental, quantitative pretest, post-test design that gathered data on how valuable a tool social media can be to help spread the truth about agricultural education, rather than common misconceptions.
SC FFA members were able to show off their incredible talent on the national stage as well! Pelham Sargent, from the Palmetto FFA Chapter sang in the National FFA Chorus, while Gage Cagle (Horse Creek FFA), Joshua Smith (ACTC FFA), and Bree Wallace (PeeDee Academy FFA), showed off their artistic skills performing on talent stages across Indianapolis.
Additionally, Rachel Gentry (Lexington Richland 5 FFA) proudly represented South Carolina as the National FFA Officer Candidate while Lyle Fulmer (SC Governor’s School for Agriculture FFA) served on the National FFA Nominating Committee. Both Rachel and Lyle arrived the week before the convention to begin the rigorous process of the selection the next National FFA Officer team.
The American FFA Degree is the highest degree that an FFA member can earn. Only 1% of FFA members earn this prestigious degree. It is an honor to say that this year, thirty-nine SC FFA members walked across the stage at the Lucas Oil Stadium and earned their American Degree!
The Honorary American Degree is awarded to those individuals who go above and beyond and who make an impact on FFA members at the state and national level. This year, Matthew Schnabel of the SC Forestry Commission and Ann Mayfield of the SC FFA Leadership Center were awarded the one of the highest degree a non-FFA can receive.
These accomplishments reflect the dedication of South Carolina’s FFA members and the agricultural educators who prepare them for success.
Clemson Rural Health Team Receives National Recognition
Members of Clemson Cooperative Extension’s Rural Health Team were recognized at the 2026 National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS) Annual Session in Knoxville, Tennessee. This year’s conference theme, “Tri-Star Traditions: Uniting Service, Community and Volunteerism for Change,” reflected the important role Extension professionals play in improving the health and well-being of communities across the nation.
The Rural Health Team earned several prestigious national and regional awards for excellence in programming, outreach, communications, and engagement:
- Elizabeth Josey (Midlands District) and Hannah Shifflette (Upstate District) received the National First Place Marketing Package Award, recognizing outstanding marketing materials used to promote Extension programs and increase community engagement.
- Camden Bryan earned the National First Place Mary W. Wells Memorial Diversity Award, which recognizes exemplary efforts to advance diversity and inclusion through Extension programming.
- Bailee Floyd received Second Place in the Southern Region Communications Written Media Award, honoring excellence in written communications and public outreach.
These awards highlight the Rural Health Team’s commitment to developing innovative educational programs, engaging diverse audiences, and improving the health and quality of life of South Carolinians through research-based Extension programming.
Congratulations to Elizabeth, Hannah, Camden, Bailee, and the entire Rural Health Team for representing Clemson Cooperative Extension with distinction and earning well-deserved national recognition.
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Congratulations to Charley Maxwell!!
Congratulations Charley!! Charley received an award at the Annie’s Project Facilitator Forum on October 6th. Her hard work, continued diligence, dedication, and work ethic are not only recognized here within the team but nationally.
Service Milestones:
I would like to congratulate the following on their service milestones to Clemson University:
Ryan Bean, Fleet Manager & Research Associate, 20 years; Lisa Terry, Administrative Assistant in Hampton County, 20 years.
New Employees
Please help me welcome the newest members of our Extension family:
- William “Bruce” McLean, Jr.: Food and Crop Horticulture Agent; Florence, Darlington, Chesterfield, Lee, Lancaster, and Marlboro Counties
- Artisha Burroughs: Office Assistant; Sumter Extension Office (not pictured)
- Charley Aho: Forestry Wildlife Agent; Lee County
- Megan Sanderson: Administrative Assistant; Lee County (not pictured)
Job Openings
We have new openings to fill with talent. The following positions with their job ID numbers are currently posted on the Clemson Careers website. http://www.clemson.edu/careers
- Greenwood 4-H Agent: Job Req Id: JR-10512
- Administrative Assistant: Spartanburg: Job Req Id: JR-10984
- Food Systems & Safety Agent: Charleston: Job Req Id: JR-10180
- Nutrition Educator: EFNEP Regional Coordinator Union County: Job Req Id: JR-10923
- Nutrition Educator: EFNEP Regional Coordinator Barnwell County: Job Req Id: JR-10902
- Spartanburg Rural Health Agent: Job Req Id: JR-10144
- Extension Wildlife Damage Associate: Statewide: Job Req Id: JR-10936
- Rural Health Agent: Orangeburg County: Job Req Id: JR-10126
IN CLOSING …
As I prepare to conclude my service as Director of Clemson Cooperative Extension, I find myself reflecting on the extraordinary people and programs that make this organization so special. The accomplishments highlighted throughout this newsletter, from youth development and agricultural education to community outreach, health initiatives, and volunteer service, are a testament to the dedication, expertise, and passion that define Extension.
Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to witness firsthand the impact of Extension’s work in every corner of South Carolina. Whether helping producers adopt new practices, developing future leaders through 4-H and FFA, supporting families and communities, or providing research-based solutions to emerging challenges, Extension continues to fulfill its mission because of the outstanding people who carry it forward each day.
Thank you for your commitment to serving others, your willingness to collaborate, and your unwavering dedication to Clemson University’s land-grant mission. It has been my privilege to work alongside you, and I will always be proud of what we have accomplished together.
As Clemson Cooperative Extension moves into its next chapter, I am confident that the organization will continue to grow, innovate, and make a lasting difference in the lives of South Carolinians. The future is bright because of the talented individuals who make up this Extension family.
Thank you for allowing me the honor of serving with you. I wish you, your families, and Clemson Cooperative Extension continued success in the years ahead.
As always, please take good care of yourselves and your families, and thank you for what you do for Clemson Cooperative Extension.
Upcoming Events and Reminders
- Please share your latest accomplishments, awards, publications and other newsworthy updates with Christi Leard ccampb3@clemson.edu to get in the Director’s Newsletter!
