National Notice

Legacy takes Larry Alexander to National 4-H Hall of Fame

Story by Bonnie Coblentz | Photos by Kevin Hudson

When Larry Alexander was inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame last October, the honor was based on a career spent investing in young people and supporting an organization that helps kids become the best possible versions of themselves.

“I discovered early on that 4-H youth development was my calling,” Alexander says.

He retired in 2019 as state 4-H coordinator with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. But Alexander’s career began in 1981 when he became the 4-H agent for Marshall County, a job he almost left as soon as he arrived.

“Race relations in the county were not very good at that time,” Alexander explains.

Because the county paid a small part of each Extension agent’s salary, each agent had to appear before the county’s administrative board for approval. Alexander waited at least 3 hours only to have the decision on his position tabled for the next meeting.

“I could have very easily got discouraged and said I didn’t want the job after going through that,” he says. “I had an opportunity to accept another job and have all of the required training paid for and work as a Ford dealership service manager in the dealership where my dad was employed. I wanted to do that after the meeting.”

But with the encouragement of Marshall County Extension agricultural agent Ronnie Jones, Alexander stayed after receiving board approval and got to work.

He was initially able to recruit minority students, but by visiting the public schools, he started to get more and more young people interested in 4-H. Before long, influential decision-makers in the community started letting their kids participate in 4-H under Alexander’s leadership, and others followed.

“Things started to really open up for me, but had I been an impatient person, I probably would have left in the first year,” Alexander says. “There were some trials and tribulations, but they were all making a better person out of me now that I look back on it.”

Alexander stayed in Marshall County for 11 years, leaving in 1993 to serve as 4-H youth development specialist for the state 4-H office. There, he coordinated 4-H functions such as its record program and contests, 4-H agent and volunteer training, and scholarships and state fair activities. One of his personal career highlights was developing the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) safety program, including a permanent training facility and vehicles.

In 2011, Alexander was promoted to state 4-H coordinator. Until his retirement in 2019, he handled administrative duties for the state program, coordinating all 4-H activities with the help of state staff and others.

“We had a lot of subject matter specialists across campus, and part of their responsibility was to offer youth programming in their area,” Alexander says. “A lot of them didn’t want to do it as it seemed an unrewarding extra duty. But for some reason, I was able to reach a lot of them and helped change their mindset.

“That was satisfying to me to gain the confidence of those specialists to offer programs to youth,” he says.

Alexander says the frustrations he encountered in his career were balanced out by the good he was able to accomplish.

“There were ups and downs that I encountered along the way, but that only made me a little hungrier for success,” he says. “I thank God for allowing me to go through those times, because it was not real pleasant, but in the long run, it was a really good experience for me.”

Alexander married his wife, Georgia, in 1985, and they have a son, Vantre, and a daughter, Morgan LeAnn. Originally from Ruleville in Sunflower County, Alexander earned an undergraduate degree in agricultural education from Alcorn State University and a master’s in agricultural Extension education from MSU.

He was inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame in an Oct. 14, 2024, ceremony in Boise, Idaho. He was part of a 15-member class and is one of only eight Mississippians ever to be honored in the Hall of Fame.