Schrandt-Prouty reflects on her Extension career in Iowa, Kansas
By Jean Caspers-Simmet
simmet@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 07/22/2010 9:17 AM
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NASHUA, Iowa —When Mary Schrandt-Prouty looks back on her 34 years in Extension, she is proud of the work she did in Kansas during the 1980s farm crisis.
"It was bad everywhere," she said. "But one of the things that was very positive was that Extension home economists in Kansas received specialized training to help farm families look for jobs."
In some cases, one farm partner went to work off the farm and the operation was able to make it. In other cases both went to work and they were able to hang on. Sometimes, the farm couple lost their farm.
"We helped farmers take the skills they used in running their homes and farm businesses and put them into marketable skills," Schrandt-Prouty said. "We helped them put together resumes, go through mock interviews and find jobs off the farm. People had to sell their skills at a time when they had no confidence in themselves because things were so bad. We helped them move beyond that."
A lot of Extension programming is a one shot kind of thing.
"But when you're helping people work through a problem over a period of time, you're helping them make changes in their lives," she said.
The Women's Financial Information Program, a project she worked with in Chickasaw County in the 1990s, had similar results.
"It was a six-part program that focused on women learning about their own financial situation," Schrandt-Prouty said. "We talked about how if a spouse dies first what do women need to know about finances and investments. That program had a real impact on people's lives."
Some women didn't have checking accounts or credit cards in their own names. They didn't understand the importance of a credit history.
"They made changes for the better," she said. "For the first time, they had credit cards and checking accounts with their names on them."
The 4-H program is another area where she made a difference.
"Young people come on board and mature and grow through 4-H," she said. "They learn community service and how to speak in front of a group. They take those skills to college and to jobs. I got to see 4-H'ers come back as leaders."
She enjoyed helping staff succeed when she became an area director.
"You hire staff, work with them, support them and try to motivate and challenge them and when they are successful, you share in that," Schrandt-Prouty said.
The 2009 Extension budget cuts and reorganization were a difficult time. Not only was Schrandt-Prouty losing her job, she was responsible for 22 people who lost positions.
"The fact that I was losing my job, that was on the back burner," she said. "I spent a huge amount of time with staff and Extension council members. Some staff wanted to talk, others were in denial and others were angry. I spent a lot of time helping staff cope. Even field specialists who were not losing their jobs felt really bad because their co-workers were."
She attended many Extension council meetings helping council members figure out how things were going to work in their counties.
"Administration eliminated the county directors and created 20 regions, but there wasn't really a road map on how to get there," she said.
Schrandt-Prouty will take the summer off, relax, do some landscaping and by fall look for work on a part-time basis.
At 56, Schrandt-Prouty said she's too young to be fully retired.
Her husband, Bill, is an antique dealer running his business out of their New Hampton home. Their son, Zach, just graduated from high school and plans to attend Northeast Iowa Community College.