Effingham County Extension Coordinator Abby Smith was recognized with the Distinguished Service Award at the 2019 National Association of Extension 4-H Agents Annual Conference held in November in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.

The Distinguished Service Award is awarded to an Extension professional who has served in an Extension role seven years or more and has made excellent contributions to 4-H and Youth Development programming design and delivery with noteworthy enthusiasm, performance and accomplishment. This service award recognizes Smith not only in youth programming in Georgia but also her collaborative efforts across the United States. She was one of only three agents from Georgia to receive this recognition.

Smith has also been extremely active on the national level, serving in a variety of leadership roles on the NAE4-HA Board of Trustees. At the National Conference, she was recognized for her role that she currently holds as vice president of Marketing and Outreach. Smith is starting her sixth year on the National Board and looks forward to continuing to serve in this national leadership role.

The National Association of Extension 4-H Agents is the professional organization for those dedicated to promoting, strengthening, enhancing and advocating for the 4-H youth development profession. The National Association of Extension 4-H Agents is an internationally recognized, non-profit, non-partisan association of professional youth development educators.

NAE4-HA is one of the largest professional associations for youth development workers with a diverse membership of nearly 4,300 youth development professionals.

Smith is a Public Service and Outreach faculty member of the University of Georgia. Her role at UGA is to serve as the Effingham County Extension Coordinator and 4-H Youth Development Agent. She is responsible for planning, implementing and evaluating the Extension and 4-H programs in Effingham County.