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Joanie Basso has 39 years of experience as a 4-H Leader at Dutchtown Primary and Middle schools. She has spent thousands of hours of her personal time involving and supporting youth in 4‑H activities.
Her family roots in the 4-H Program instilled the love of 4-H as a part of her life at an early age. She was a 4-H member for nine years in which she won many awards and recognitions.
As an outstanding leader, Joanie continually organizes and conducts activities and safety events through the school year. She gets students involved in bus safety, teaching lessons, conducting bus drills, learning tire safety, holding food drives for needy families, preparing Christmas floats where 4-Hers make and display safety slogans, conducting toy drives and delivering the gifts to needy families.
Joanie loves competing in the Ascension 4-H Song and Yell competition at Achievement Day. The 4-H’ers love her energy and enthusiasm, and they like winning! The members also love her teaching the Christmas songs and going to the nursing homes to sing for the elderly and to bring gifts. What an impact on our 4-H youth!
Joanie and her 4-H’ers have won multiple awards. She has won many Outstanding Club and Leader awards as well as State and National Safety awards. Many of her students earned National Safety Congress awards trip and several Achievement Day awards, such as Song and Yell competitions, the top fundraising school for the Ascension 4-H Foundation annual fundraiser and the top Christmas float for the annual Ascension Christmas Parade.
Her major career accomplishments include Teacher of the Year, Veterans Teacher of the Year Good Service award and the Angel award. Those who work with her say that they can think of no one who better represents the quote, “A man never stands so tall as when he bends to help a child.”
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture
