Julie Hatchett honored by conservation agencies
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on February 6, 2007 1:45 PM
Julie Hatchett of Goldsboro was recently awarded the Earth-Team Volunteer of the Year award by the N. C. Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the USDA-Natural Resource and Conservation Service. The award was given during the Annual meeting of the N.C. Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Wilmington last month.
Julie, the daughter of Kathy and Ernie Best, attends Wayne Community College and will graduate with an associate degree in Agribusiness Technology this spring. Upon graduation she plans to attend N.C. State University to major in natural resource policy and administration.
The Earth-Team Volunteer of the Year award was presented by Mary Combs, State Conservationist for North Carolina with the USDA-NRCS.
The award is only presented to one individual throughout the state each year.
She was chosen based on her service and dedication to helping conservation efforts in the state. In addition to receiving the award, the Wayne County Soil and Water Conservation District was also honored for having the Volunteer of the Year in their county office.
Ms. Hatchett's love for agriculture and the environment led to her choice to dedicate her spare time to the Wayne County Soil and Water Conservation office. She began volunteering in June 2006, and despite her limitations of being restricted to a wheelchair, Julie was able to provide substantial assistance to the office.
Since June, she has volunteered some 400 hours of her time. She has served the Wayne County field office in a number of ways. She has served as a receptionist, assisted in developing conservation plans and contracts, assisted in the conservation education program, and developed news articles on conservation.
Ms. Hatchett was also a help when she could assist the other technicians in the field and she assisted in judging conservation and 4H fair booths at the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair.