Posted: 10-12-2009

For second time, Volusia County 4-H volunteer receives national recognition

For the second time in as many years, a Volusia County 4-H volunteer has received national recognition for her work.

Karen Russi was named the Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer for 2009 by the 4-H Salute to Excellence Awards program, which was established in 2002 to recognize outstanding volunteers.

The award will be formally presented Oct. 9 at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Washington, D.C.

Russi, a Glenwood resident, leads the Glenwood Trailblazers Club and has been a 4-H volunteer for 36 years.

The honor didn’t exactly shock Dave Griffis, Volusia County extension director. He’s known Russi for 33 years.

“I wasn’t surprised at all,” Griffis said. “She models what 4-H is all about.”

Besides being talented, patient and caring, Russi is also modest, Griffis says. On Oct. 1, the Volusia County Council honored Russi with a proclamation declaring it to be “Karen Russi Day” in Volusia County. He said she appreciated the gesture, but felt it was unnecessary.

“We had to almost drag her in (to the county council meeting),” Griffis said. “She’s all about the kids.”

Russi was nominated for the Outstanding Lifetime Volunteer award by a fellow Volusia County 4-H volunteer and a local 4-H leader, then was selected from a nationwide field of candidates, all of whom have volunteered for 10 years or more.

Her accomplishments are many. She led the drive to establish DeLeon Springs State Park and devotes a large amount of time to community service projects, such as efforts to beautify the park, a nearby stretch of the St. Johns River and the Glenwood roadways. She is also an accomplished photographer and writer, and teaches crafts at a local school.

Her club’s activities include woodworking, leatherwork, sewing, animal husbandry and cooking.

Last year, 4-H volunteer Melanie Baggs of Deltona was named the National Volunteer of the Year. Of the 16 individuals who’ve been honored by the 4-H Salute to Excellence Awards program, only two of them have come from the same county—Baggs and Russi.

Why all the recognition? Laura Cash, Volusia County’s 4-H extension agent, has a simple answer.

“It says something about the quality of the volunteers in Volusia County,” Cash said. And it also says something about 4-H, she adds.

“We draw good people because 4-H is a great opportunity for volunteers,” she said. “We cover almost every subject under the sun. So by volunteering, you can pursue your interests and do something meaningful for the community at the same time.”