Mark A. McCann of Newport, Va., director of Virginia Cooperative Extension and associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been elected to the National 4-H Council Board of Trustees.

McCann began serving in his current post in 2005 after spending four years as head of the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He oversees the Extension program, which provides research-based educational resources to individuals, families, groups, and organizations, especially in the areas of agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, community viability, and 4-H youth development.

"With extensive experience in education and leadership positions, Mark McCann will provide significant insight to the Board's work to advance the 4-H Youth Development movement," said Anthony Tansimore, chairman, National 4-H Council Board of Trustees.

McCann received his bachelor's and master's degrees in animal science at North Carolina State University before earning his doctoral degree in agriculture from Texas Tech University. He then joined the faculty at the University of Georgia, where he built a beef cattle extension and research program funded by more than $800,000 in research grants. The author of many articles and abstracts, McCann has worked to accelerate the dissemination of information to beef cattle producers through Extension and experiment station publications as well as programs and conferences.

"McCann's understanding of the Cooperative Extension system will be instrumental in our work to enrich the lives of today's youth," said National 4-H Council President and Chief Executive Officet Donald T. Floyd Jr. "We are honored to have him join the National 4-H Council Board of Trustees."

4-H is a community of more than 6.5 million young people across America learning leadership, citizenship and life skills. National 4-H Council is the national, private sector, non-profit partner of the 4-H Youth Development Program and its parent, the Cooperative Extension System of the United States Department of Agriculture. Learn more about 4-H.

Virginia Cooperative Extension brings the resources of Virginia's land-grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, to the people of the commonwealth. Through a system of on-campus specialists and locally based agents, it delivers education in the areas of agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, community viability, and 4-H youth development. With a network of faculty at two universities, 107 county and city offices, 13 agricultural research and extension centers, and six 4-H educational centers, Virginia Cooperative Extension provides solutions to the problems facing Virginians today.

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