There are some new smiling faces hanging around the Wright County Extension office lately. In the last few months, the local extension has welcomed two new coordinators into their midst. Missy Loux is a new Program Coordinator, while Emily Zahurones is the new County Youth Coordinator.
Missy, a Clear Lake native, has been living right down the road in Rowan for the last few years. But she explains her previous job in Human Services for Buena Vista University required a commute to Mason City every day. She is now excited to not only have a shorter drive but also to be serving her local community.
As the new program coordinator, Missy will be handling the adult programming for the county. Locally, this includes lots of ag-related programs such as the recent pesticides training and farm-leasing programs. She is looking forward to offering an expanded master-gardener line of programs in the upcoming months. In addition to agricultural programs, Missy says she will be coordinating courses about personal finances, mental health needs, as well as various educational opportunities for businesses.
Missy has been in the extension position since May. She says that the programming landscape looks different than in previous years due to COVID. This has required much more virtual programming, though she notes that even online offerings are adapting to become more hands-on.
With more opportunity to work locally, Missy is looking forward to meeting community needs and offering exciting new programs.
Emily Zahurones has only been on the job at Wright County Extension for a little over a week, but she is liking what she sees. She originally hails from Baxter in Jasper County where she grew up on a farm. Emily is a recent graduate of Iowa State where she studied ag-communication and event planning.
Luckily, Emily has a rich 4-H past as her youth coordinator job deals mainly with that activity. She participated on state 4-H council and was active at both the county and state fair levels. She will be applying that 4-H enthusiasm to her Wright County job.
Emily says she can’t wait to get to know the local kids and potential 4-Hers. She looks forward to engaging local youth not only on a county level but encouraging state activity participation as well. Emily hopes to help 4-Hers focus on service opportunities and leadership development, as well as promote involvement from Wright County’s diverse population of youth. Under her guidance, she plans to grow an even stronger 4-H program in the area.
Outside of the extension office, both women stay plenty busy. Missy recently married her husband Matt. The couple have two children, Elijah and Myla. She enjoys gardening and candle making. Emily is a music enthusiastic and plays the piano and guitar. She also enjoys dance and flower gardening.
Both coordinators are looking forward to engaging with the community and invite people to share questions and ideas with them.
