Family and community health agent receives Hall of Fame award

Kathy Farrow, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service family and community health agent for San Patricio County, recently received the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, NEAFCS, Hall of Fame award and induction.

The award was presented at the 2022 NEAFCS Annual Session, which took place Sept. 12-15 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

NEAFCS is a family and consumer sciences organization that serves as a nationwide resource for education, information, networking and building partnerships to promote the mission and goals of the land-grant university Extension system.

Established in 2019, the award recognizes outstanding NEAFCS members who have demonstrated their commitment, dedication and effective leadership as well as involvement in NEAFCS at the state, regional and/or national level. Farrow was one of only two NEAFCS members to receive the award this year, and the first AgriLife Extension recipient to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Selection for the award is determined by the NEAFCS president and the NEAFCS executive board, which makes the final selection during its mid-year board meeting.

“I am very honored and humbled to have received this honor,” Farrow said.   

Farrow’s AgriLife Extension contributions  

For more than 40 years, Farrow has provided leadership for a variety of AgriLife Extension programs and other educational outreach efforts in service to the residents of San Patricio County.

One of her main contributions has been the implementation of the agency’s Healthy South Texas initiative, which includes a number of health and wellness programs such as Walk Across Texas, Cooking Well with Diabetes and the Step Up Scale Down healthy weight management program. She has also facilitated Dinner Tonight! Healthy Cooking Schools, diabetes conferences, child car seat safety check-up events, community garden programs, parenting conferences and Friend-to-Friend “pink event” luncheons for breast and cervical cancer awareness.

Farrow is also an active member of several school districts health advisory committees and serves as vice chairman for a Community Connections Board committee focused on keeping older residents involved in community activities.

Her community involvement also includes serving a three-year term as co-chair of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Area Go Texan Committee, which involves providing leadership to over 1,100 volunteers from across a 68-county area. She is also a member of the National and State Extension Association of 4-H Agents and American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.

“Kathy has dedicated many years to service and providing educational programs that have truly made a positive impact in the lives of many,” said Courtney Dodd, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension associate director – health, families and youth, Bryan-College Station. “I am proud that Kathy is a part of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and of her commitment to serving the San Patricio County community, families and individuals. Her extensive and long-term involvement in the NEAFCS is a testament to her commitment as a professional and her exemplary leadership.”

Farrow’s NEAFCS contributions

Farrow has served as a member of the District 11 Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, the Texas Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, TEAFCS, and the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. In TEAFCS, she served as president from 2008-2009, treasurer and representative to the Texas 4-H Foundation. On the district level, Farrow served as director, alternate director, secretary and treasurer.

During her career, Farrow has been a member of many national committees as well as serving as an awards judge. She has received other association awards, including a Distinguished Service Award in 2002 and Continued Excellence Award in 2004.

In her award nomination, Farrow was also cited for her service as a mentor to many new AgriLife Extension employees, encouraging them to be active at district, state and national levels.

The citation stated, “(Farrow) exemplifies her dedication to her chosen profession and her support of the mission and goals of the land-grant university Extension system daily. Her dedication to her family, county, profession and NEAFCS is unparalleled.”