Karla Shriver is the fairy godmother who sprinkles gold dust to nurture programs that impact kids and the San Luis Valley’s agricultural community. In this chapter of the story, the magic dust comes in the form of grants from the Outcalt Foundation, which Shriver manages in partnership with local accountant Carolyn Kawanabe. 

The Outcalt Foundation’s latest act of benevolence: awarding three years of funding to Colorado State University and its SLV Extension Office under the direction of Larry Brown. Brown is using the money to add a second 4-H youth specialist, which he figures will help him double the number of students participating in 4-H programming in the Valley.

The CSU Advancement Office will work to raise another $2.5 to $3 million as an endowment to support the 4-H specialist positions in the San Luis Valley and give Outcalt’s investment long-lasting returns.

“We know the value of 4-H in the Valley, and what it does for our youth and adults,” Shriver said during this week’s Southern Rocky Mountain Ag Conference. “It brings a lot of programs that benefit us all.”

The traditional 4-H Club model of raising and showing animals, homemaking and the finer parts of arts and craftsmanship, has matured into providing educational programming in STEM studies, after-school programming, and a Juntos program aimed at Hispanic youth.

“It really expands the reach and breadth of programs that we’re able to provide for kids in the Valley,” said CSU Managing Director of Development Ali Eccleston of the Outcalt gift.

Eccleston will support Brown’s efforts to build the endowment. Already, the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee through its leadership have pledged a $25,000 match.

“4-H covers so many different topics,” Eccleston said. “Really, whatever kids are interested in, we can spark those interests and have those hands-on skills and develop tomorrow’s leaders.”

The Outcalt Foundation comes from the estate of Ralph Outcalt, who passed away in 2014 at the age of 101. His work was the Sorum Tractor Company and eventually a co-owner of First National Bank in Alamosa which later became First Southwest Bank.

As executors of his estate and through the Outcalt Foundation, Shriver and Kawanabe have made significant strategic investments in places like Boys & Girls Clubs of the San Luis Valley and Kids Connection in Monte Vista. 

The Outcalt Foundation also served the city of Monte Vista by providing the bulk of the funding for a new multi-use complex at the Ski Hi Stampede grounds. The new events center named for Ralph Outcalt replaced a decrepit building that at one time had city leaders wondering if it could even continue hosting the annual Ski Hi Stampede. Then Shriver came along and sprinkled her magic dust, and now the Ski Hi Stampede complex is the envy of other communities that wish for something similar to ignite their own economic renaissance.

The reason for the investment in the CSU SLV Extension 4-H positions is simple, said Shriver. “Our ag backgrounds, not only Ralph’s, but mine.” And to support the work 4-H does.

“The one I see a lot of value in is the leadership,” Shriver said of the 4-H programs offered today. “They actually have an awesome leadership section that they work on, and we had a couple of kids go through that and I’ve just seen how they’ve developed in their careers.”

In the coming week, the CSU SLV Extension Office will host its annual Ag Fest to engage 5th graders from across the San Luis Valley with ag-related activities and educational content. Pretty much every school district will send bus loads of students to the Ski Hi Events and Outcalt Center to learn about the ways of farming and ranching.

With the Outcalt funding in place, Brown has hired a second 4-H youth specialist who will begin work during the youth Ag Fest. Last year, Brown figures the CSU Extension Office made contact with around 1,500 youth. Of those, around 380 of the students were 4-H Club members.

Double those numbers, and Brown and CSU Extension will be making the larger impact that Shriver and the Outcalt Foundation will be hoping to see.
EDITOR’S NOTE: To support the 4-H endowment, reach out to Ali Eccleston at ali.eccleston@colostate.edu.