Featured Montanan: Reta Rae Weisgram

RETA RAE WEISGRAM

53 years of adventures with Montana 4-H and Extension

"I have a degree in Extension; I just don’t have a piece of paper to hang on the wall."

It started with a neighbor girl’s question, “Would Duane like to come to a 4-H club meeting? I’m giving a demonstration on how to peel a banana.” This one question launched a 53-years-and-counting career of leadership development with Montana State University.

Duane, who was 10 years old at the time, is the eldest of four children in Reta Rae and Don Weisgram’s family. The other children, David, Shana and Owana, also followed suit and joined the 4-H program, each completing 10 years. Shana transformed her experiences and became an Extension agent in Oregon. The Weisgram family over the years hosted 27 summer exchange students from five countries at their sheep ranch north of Conrad.

Along the way, Reta Rae found herself becoming the 4-H club leader, on the County 4-H Council, followed by the District Leadership before she landed on the Montana 4-H Leader’s Council, director of the Labo International Student Exchange Program (Labo is a family-based Japanese youth organization), and as one of the first representatives on the Montana Extension Advisory Council. She has served in leadership roles as club leader, secretary, vicepresident and president.

Weisgram is a model for volunteers interested in becoming active in any organization. She notes that, “a lot of people are willing, even though they might not know about it. Whether or not a person will volunteer depends on if they are asked. You never know what will happen until you ask.”

Over time, she willingly volunteered because of the support she received from the local Extension agent and MSU staff in Bozeman. She also recognized the value of mentors who provided guidance, support and leadership, which began with the two 4-H club leaders who trained her to take over the Meadowlarkers 4-H Club three years after Duane enrolled in 4-H.

Anything she heard about she wanted to try because, “I wanted to help the youth be better kids.” She knew if they had someone to help them, they would be successful, and eventually give back to their own communities.

In her involvement over the years, there have been many firsts. The first time Weisgram helped Duane fill out 4-H record books, her husband Don came home to find them in tears. Reta Rae said, “We have to hire a lawyer because we can’t fill this book out.” Don assured her they wouldn’t need a lawyer and lent a hand to help get the books done. Daughters Shana

and Owana were exchange students to Thailand and Japan, respectively. Reta Rae chaperoned the Japan trip for an exchange experience of her own.

As the District Two President, she was part of the volunteer team that hosted the first Western Region Leadership Forum in Helena. Delegates attending from Hawaii brought lei’s and learned for the first time what happens to flowers when they freeze. The Hawaiians took the frostbitten lei’s back home to show their colleagues.

Other experiences included getting flown around Montana to meet with families hosting Labo exchange students. It was decided she should fly to towns in Western Montana to give guidance and expectations to more than 20 host families rather than have them all drive to Bozeman. Families would pick her up at the closest airport and host her for the training. On these trips, she flew in a Cessna, and was required to represent the 4-H office in the most professional way possible. Therefore, her outfit included a green skirt, white blouse, and shoes with heels to look the part of a 4-H representative, and be easily recognizable (even the state 4-H office at the time required dresses and dress shoes for state meetings in Bozeman). However, flying into towns like Ekalaka or Anaconda, in full business attire, prompted a response the first time out. The pilot looked over and asked, “are you really wearing that on the flight?” The Labo program hired a person after the startup year, but Weisgram’s air travel was a great time saver for those first host families.

“In general, volunteers are the heart and lifeblood of Montana 4-H, and Reta Rae Weisgram is no exception. The impact that volunteers like her have had on the Montana 4-H program is immeasurable,” said Meghan Phillipi,” MSU Extension 4-H Associate Specialist for Volunteerism. “I have no doubt there are countless 4-H alumni and volunteers who could report the positive impact Reta Rae had on them over her 53 years as a 4-H volunteer.”

Weisgram shared some of her lessons learned in her years with 4-H:

•§ Volunteering opens doors - step through.

Use resources - many people will help mentor and guide.

Benefits of volunteering - share expertise so that others may learn, be a caring adult in the life of a child, and gain practical skills in communication and leadership.

Sow new ideas and experiences to reap the rewards that benefit a child’s development and lead to successful adults.

Weisgram is quick to acknowledge the role of family in the service work she’s done, saying “if it wasn’t for my husband, I wouldn’t have been able to do these things. In order for someone to be a good volunteer, the other spouse has to be willing to stay home and allow you to be gone.” It is because of her husband Don’s support, the job he had and his belief in the 4-H program that she could volunteer.

In addition to her extensive work in Extension, Weisgram has also paid it forward as a Brownie and Girl Scout leader, a den mother for Cub Scouts and in the community, serving the boards for Pondera Medical Center, Pondera Medical Center Health Foundation and the Marias Fair Advisory Board. Who knew an adventure that began with her son learning how to peel a banana would lead to local, regional, state and international opportunities - all because of one question! �

RIGHT: A strong volunteer like Reta Rae Weisgram says her “back-up” man and husband Don is the main source of her success.