Beaufort County commissioners received a nod for their continuing support of the agricultural community recently.

One of five County Partnership awards from the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service Foundation was presented to commissioners during the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners held in Asheville. The awards recognize local governments for their outstanding partnership with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service.

“The five counties honored today are exemplary models of this partnership,” Sheri Schwab, associate director of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, said at the presentation. “The county winners were selected based on their contributions in three areas: their continued commitment of resources for facilities, new and existing positions, and the overall operation of extension in their county; the supportive relationship they have built with extension as an inclusive partner with commissioners, county management and other departments; and the counties’ advocacy and involvement in extension programs.”

Beaufort County’s ongoing support of the county extension agency led Extension Director Rod Gurganus to nominate the local Board of Commissioners for the northeastern district, one of five districts in the state. The northeastern district covers 22 counties, from Beaufort County north to the North Carolina-Virginia state line and from Wake County to the coast.

In his nomination, Gurganus wrote about the crucial role the county has played in helping the cooperative extension’s mission, assisting with salaries, equipment and supplies to enhance the agency’s education efforts, including the ways the county supports the 4-H youth development program, engaging young people with hands-on learning activities that focus on science, healthy living and food security. The county also supplies the building housing the local Cooperative Extension. All these add up to an investment in the community and its resources.

“It’s more of a generic thing — that they value the cooperative extension; they really value agriculture and know what it means to our economy,” Gurganus said.