Russell Murray and Rebecca Parker Murray of Archer Lodge have created an awards fund to honor outstanding 4-H members who have excelled in the 4-H Achievement Program.

The John Russell Murray and Rebecca Parker Murray 4-H Achievement Awards Endowment is being established through the North Carolina 4-H Development Fund and will provide awards and incentives for
4-H youth who have attained excellence in the 4-H achievement cumulative or project record program as state and/or district winners. In creating the fund, the Murrays are leaving a legacy gift in the same achievement awards program in which Rebecca Murray received national 4-H honors in 1960.

Dr. Johnny C. Wynne, interim dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, hosted the signing ceremonies to establish the Murray Endowment on June 20.

There he recounted highlights of Rebecca Murray’s lifetime association with the 4-H program, including her experience in 1960 as one of six 4-H’ers who delivered the “4-H Report to the Nation” to Vice President Richard Nixon at the White House. “We have the model of a real achiever in Rebecca Parker Murray,” Wynne said. “She is the epitome of the 4-H Honor Club motto of ‘service.’”

Recently retired from her position as administrative hearing officer for the N.C. Department of Social Services, Rebecca Murray has continued working with 4-H throughout her adult life, including catering the reception for new Honor Club inductees each summer. She also has been a leader in the Honor Club 4-H Awards Challenge campaign to raise $1 million, helping to achieve $600,000 of its targeted goal so far.

Russell Murray, a retail services representative for Proctor and Gamble, was also a 4-H’er as a child and has joined his wife in support of the organization in Johnston County and beyond.

“Since 1996, the Murrays have provided an annual gift to the 4-H Awards Program,” Wynne said. “Now, with the signing of this agreement, they have stepped forward to create support for the 4-H Achievement Program in perpetuity. This gift demonstrates their hope and belief in the future of the 4-H program that gave Rebecca so many opportunities in the past and that will make a difference in the lives of today’s and tomorrow’s youth.”

Dr. Thearon McKinney, interim State 4-H Leader, presented the Murrays a 4-H centennial commemorative stamp and a bloom from his grandmother’s garden to symbolize the couple’s love for family. “Thank you for what you do for 4-H and for investing in young people,” he said.

In response, Rebecca Murray said, “4-H has been embedded in my life forever. The 4-H program provides for the overall development of a child — the heart, the spirit, the health and the social development. It’s a joy for me to watch children grow and blossom. And it’s a privilege for us to provide what was provided for us along the way.”

Added Russell Murray, “I hope as a result of this fund, some young person will be blessed each year.”

— Terri Leith