So Long but Not Goodbye

  After 43 years of service to NC Cooperative Extension, Robeson County Center Denese Prevatte is retiring.  You might be asking yourself who is this, or why does this effect 4-H?  Well the influence Denese has had on this program is pretty profound and you might not ever had realized it.
  Starting at the age of 19 Denese began as the office receptionist and worked her way up to programing secretary, serving all the program areas at some point (and sometimes all at once), and finally became the Administrative Assistant.   She has been active in her state association winning almost every award they have to offer.  She is an organizational genius who loves efficiency, and streamlining things.  She is good at following, and making others follow the rules.  She's not half bad at creating rules that use common sense.
  Way back before your current 4-H team was in place Denese was a 4-H volunteer with her own community club.  She taught sewing, crafting, and other fun skills to youth including her own children.  So what better person to understand 4-H members and volunteers, other than a person who was a volunteer herself.
  If you have had to come in and register for any 4-H event in the last 6 years or so, you probably met Denese.  She became tasked with 4-H along with her Administrative Duties.  She is someone we can count on to answer questions, make sure sign up sheets are in order, and that we keep things as organized as possible in 4-H.   She also typed and proofed every letter that left our office.  For those of us who might be punctuation challenged, she was a godsend.
  If you know anything about Denese you also know that she probably won't be happy with us posting her picture.  All we can say to that is that we had a whole lot more that we could have put up and didn't, because showing her fashion sense, and hair styles over the last 40 years wasn't really necessary for us to tell you about her.  Denese has been an integral part of our NC Cooperative Extension staff and a phenomenal member of our 4-H team.  She has always stepped up to the plate, found a way to make everything happen, and somehow kept us all within the rules and guidelines we need to follow to make this 4-H magic happen.   She never asks for anything and just wants the team to succeed.  She believes in making the best better and has done that for the last 43 years.  We will miss Denese, and in 6 months don't be surprised if we try to talk her into coming back in some capacity because after all there might be another generation that needs her unique life skills. 
  In the meantime, enjoy your well deserved retirement Denese, and forgive us for not being willing to say goodbye, but instead so long we hope to see you soon.