07/26/06 Fitzgerald gets D.C. job

Washington Ag July 26, 2006 The state executive director of the Washington State Farm Service Agency since 2001, James Fitzgerald, has been appointed as chief of staff for Rural Development at USDA in Washington D.C. In that new position Fitzgerald will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Rural Development agency, which has a staff of about seven-thousand and has offices in all 50 states. This year the agency will provide over 17-billion dollars in investments driven by about two-billion in budget authority. In a USDA news release Fitzgerald states that rural America has been presented with a unique opportunity to benefit from the development of renewable energy sources and USDA Rural Development is ready and willing to partner in that process. A livestock Extension educator and county Extension director from Michigan has been selected as the new county director for Washington State University Extension in Okanogan County. Norman Suverly, and Oregon native, will assume that position August 14th. WSU also announced this week that Ed Adams, formerly director of agricultural programs for WSU Extension, is the new director of Spokane County Extension. Gary F. Varella, an accomplished educator with 29 years experience working with young people, has been named the new 4-H Development Educator for Spokane County. I'm Bob Hoff.