AGENT’S MESSAGE

By David Cooke, Kanawha County Extension Agent

I would like to take this chance to say "Hi" to all my fellow Master Gardeners and all those others who just love working around living things. It is a pleasure to be working in Kanawha County. This is a big county with different challenges and opportunities than what I experienced in the coalfields. So far I am very pleased with my overall situation: office, co-workers, plans developing for future work, and of course, the terrific Master Gardener organization in Kanawha County. It’s both exciting and humbling to step in as the advisor to the best MG group in the state but I will do everything I can to never give any of you reason to regret my hiring. Volunteer opportunities at the Book Fair, and with the Junior Master Gardener program and Habitat for Humanity, are just a few of the new programs we will be working with. I am always happy to hear from any of you and am very open-minded about volunteer time and continuing education experiences. Working with the dedicated members on the various committees has been a pleasure and there is the energy of a new class starting. I applaud each and every one of you for your efforts during the period when you did not have an agent to support you. My only request is that we keep the lines of communication open and dedicate ourselves to keeping the Kanawha County Master Gardeners the positive force of support and volunteerism in the area that it has been in the past. And hey, let’s try and recapture that sense of this whole thing being fun again. Working together, we can do this. In brief—it’s great to be here, I am working hard and would love to hear from you.

David Cooke

To reach Dave Cooke, call 768-1202, or visit the office in Dunbar at 14 Manfred Holland Way (formerly 815 Mallory Road). You may also email him at dcooke@wvu.edu.